Preliator
by Aveira
Summary: He was the world's greatest Hero, she was his greatest treasure. Called back into service to do what he swore he never would, will it be their undoing? AU-ish Seph/Tifa with hints of Tifa/Cloud. Rated M for obvious reasons.
1. Chapter 1

So, I started writing this with Valentine'sNinja but she's become a little preoccupied and has given me permission to write this on my own. This is all because of her.

Preliator: _(noun)_ fighter, warrior, combatant...seemed a fitting title for this one.

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Summer in Nibelheim was unpleasant to put it mildly, your clothes stuck to your skin, the humidity was outrageous, and the bugs were unrelenting. Tifa, being a native of the town, had never really been bothered by it. She loved it, especially the occasional thunderstorm. She smiled sweetly to anyone who happened to make eye contact as she meandered down the road toward her home after her stroll to the market. She'd managed to get a few fresh vegetables for her stew, fresh meat from the butcher, and of course fresh bread. She made it to the door, entering quickly as a gust of cool air greeted her.

"Seph?" She called out, depositing her purse and groceries on the counter. "You here?" She walked through the kitchen and into the living room, flicking on the light.

She gasped as a warm arm encircled her waist from behind, letting her eyes flutter closed as the owner of said arm pressed against her back, kissing her neckline gently as he did.

"How was your…outing?" His rich voice sent chills down her spine; she tensed slightly as she tried to concentrate on her answer.

"It was lovely…next time you should come with…me." She replied slowly as he let his hands roam her body while she spoke. His fingers ghosted down her arms as his lips traced her ear lobe, her breathing hitched and she could feel him smirking at her.

"Perhaps I will." He replied simply, stepping away from her abruptly. Her skin felt the chill when he'd left. She turned and watched him, her expression changing from a small smile to a more pronounced pout. In the two years they'd spent together she'd become more accustomed to his abruptness and somewhat cold nature. She knew that somewhere deep down he loved her. In their eyes it was obvious, though to others they seemed scarcely aware the other existed at all.

He removed a carefully wrapped package of meat and placed it into the fridge, fixing her with his calculating gaze. "Did you get everything you needed?" He asked quietly as he continued to put the groceries away.

She hesitated before answering. "Yes…I saw your brother will I was out." She made her way past him to help, careful not to brush against him.

"Oh really? I'm surprised he made it outside…" Tifa chuckled at Sephiroth's irritated sigh as his silver hair once again slid forward, covering his eyes. He froze as her hands wound their way into his silver mane, deft fingers pulling the silken strands back into a hair tie she always kept on her wrist. His aversion to physical contact had long since stopped bothering or deterring her from touching him. It was her touch, after all, that he enjoyed most of all.

"He seems to be doing much better these days." She replied absently, toying with a few wayward strands of his hair. "He's smiling at the very least." His radiant green eyes met hers for a moment. She smiled warmly at him as he watched her with his perpetual mask of stoic indifference.

"Cloud hasn't had the…_easiest_ time, I guess you could say, coping with our mother's passing." He said softly, his eyes drifting down to watch her lips curve into a slight frown. She waited patiently for him to speak again, his eyes fixed on her lips intently as he thought of what to say next. He half turned away in the last second. She held back a sigh as he returned to the groceries.

"Neither have you." Tifa lifted a soft hand to his shoulder. "Lucrecia was an incredible woman and despite her faults she loved you _both_ as well as she could." Tifa stood on her tip toes, kissing his temple gently. "At least you have Jenova…crazy as she may be; she loves you as much as her sister." Sephiroth's mask fell, little by little, as Tifa let her fingers trace along his jaw. "She's doing her best to help you two get through this, and despite what you, or I, think, she does care…very much about you."

"She's never cared about anything, except her own selfish desires." He countered, his expression turning icy yet again. He was all too aware of his aunt's insidious hatred for Tifa, and for the life of him he couldn't see why. Tifa had never been anything but kind and gentle, she cared for Lucrecia when she was at her worst with a smile, she was patient with him and compassionate with anyone who gave her the chance. She was even kind to Jenova, on the rare occasion she came to visit, giving Sephiroth all the space he'd need to deal with that _woman._ It wasn't a secret that he didn't care for her. He did love her, but then again it was hard not to…she _was_ family.

"That was before. Lucrecia was the only person that had ever really understood her. It hasn't been easy for her either, you've all suffered a tremendous loss…no one expects you to forgive her, but Jenova really might want to just be there for you." He frowned and shrugged turning back to the task at hand.

"She never cared," He gave a petulant huff causing Tifa to smirk at his somewhat childish frown. "Lucrecia had to raise us both on her own after Hojo left her. Jenova always treated Cloud as though he was a failure, and when Luc-mother met Vincent…" He trailed off, his expression turning dark. Tifa knew that story well. Vincent and Lucrecia had had a wonderful affair. She was waiting for the divorce to be final with Hojo and Vincent was a young Turk assigned to her protection detail. Lucrecia had spent her whole life in the science field, which was the only explanation anyone could come up with at to her outlandish reasons for every marrying Professor Hojo in the first place. She'd fallen instantly for Vincent, his charms and quiet, kind nature. Tifa had met him only a few times and she could easily see why Lucrecia had loved him. Jenova, however, had shared her sisters' love of the crimson eyed man and had harbored a deep seeded anger toward her sister for, as she said, stealing the one thing she'd ever wanted. It had broken Lucrecia's heart all over again and she'd wound up leaving Vincent, the greatest love of her life, all for the forgiveness of her sister. It wounded Sephiroth more than he let on. Vincent had become somewhat of a replacement father figure to him in his teenage years, and he had patiently helped Cloud out of his shell bit by bit.

Vincent was never the doting type, so instead he'd taught Cloud how to fire a gun, drive a motorcycle, and built up his self confidence in ways no one else but Sephiroth could have. He taught Sephiroth about swords and how to use them, taught him responsibility and accountability. Vincent instilled in him a strong sense of right and wrong. One year, Vincent had gone to Wutai and brought back one of the few things Sephiroth would ever cherish, a traditionally made Nodachi…'Masamune'.

Tifa stood beside Sephiroth as he relived various memories, she frowned, it was times like these he appreciated her the most. She simply stood by, letting her mere presence be the comfort he needed. He blinked rapidly, turning to face her with an unreadable expression. He held stock still as her fingertips brushed against his cheek, her own eyes mirroring the emptiness and crushing sorrow he felt while her expression remained neutral.

"That's enough…lets not talk about this anymore today, Seph." Her voice was soft and comforting in the darkness of his grief. "It's been a long day; I'm going to go lay down for a bit." She turned and began to walk away, stopping in the hall and turning back toward him. "Won't you come lay with me?" Her voice seemed small and shy, as it often did when she asked him for something he deemed 'ridiculous'. He watched her a moment, the corner of one lip quirked up in a smirk, nodding slowly as he walked toward her. Secretly he enjoyed the simplicity of lying with her, feeling her warmth as he slept was comforting to him…though he'd never admit it aloud, not yet at least.

It had been three months since his mother, Lucrecia, had fallen ill with Geostigma. Her funeral march still played clearly in the back of his mind, as though it had never ended. He thought for a moment that only Tifa's hands had the power to bring him back out of that nightmare.

It had come as a surprise when she'd first become ill, and though he despised her, Jenova had spent every waking moment with her sister. Apologizing through actions rather than words, doing all she could to show Lucrecia in those final days, that she had truly loved her. It was more difficult for Cloud, the younger of the two brothers, as he had always been closer to their mother. She always said he reminded her of her own father, his sky blue eyes and brilliant blond hair down to his simple and sweet nature.

Sephiroth however was a different story. He had always been emotionally guarded, even as a boy. He had an unnatural desire to prove himself as strong and unbreakable, as though he knew this day would come and he'd have to be strong enough for everyone else. Lucrecia had always supported him, from joining Soldier to his eventual climb to the most decorated General of their time. Cloud had never truly had an interest in war or the military; he only enlisted because of his brother. Cloud harbored a small amount of hero worship toward him, even as a small boy he always tried to emulate him, and Sephiroth had always done his best to protect him from anything and everything.

Jenova…she was the proverbial black sheep of the family. Addicted to Mako and suffering from some form of drug induced schizophrenia, she'd almost always been in either the hospital or incarcerated. Lucrecia, being the woman she was, never gave up on her. She would do everything from posting bail to putting her up in her own apartment as close to their home as she could. Jenova had never seemed to appreciate it until Lucrecia was on her death bed. Sephiroth would never have admit that in those moments he felt that there really was more of a sisterly bond between the two, he hated Jenova for all the pain she had inflicted on his mother. However, as Tifa always said, people change and in moments of desperation and regret they show what they are truly capable of, be it for better or worse and Jenova had shown that even with all her faults, Lucrecia had meant something…_more_ to her.

"Tifa…" She met his emerald stare mesmerized by the unnatural glow his eyes held. She felt her heart sink, she knew this look well. She felt her heart tense painfully in her chest as he carefully wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead gently as they lay together. She felt the urge to kiss him senseless and tell him all the things she kept hidden within her heart. However, she kept silent and watched him closely as he sighed heavily into her thick brown mane. Her mahogany eyes softened as he settled against her and his breathing slowly evened out.

'_I love you. Yesterday, today, always…'_ Tifa sighed, wishing she were brave enough to say as much aloud to him. He, however, never seemed to be one who enjoyed such things, and in the end she concluded it was probably better she didn't. Who knows what it would do to him?

She lay beside him as he slept, she felt his sorrow pouring off him in waves and despite his constant need for distance and the coldness that seemed to permeate his being, she knew he loved her as much as she did him. He touched her, which for anyone who knew him knew he recoiled from any sort of physical contact. When they made love it felt like he set her on fire from the inside out, bringing her to life for the first time. His intensity and control were incredible. He would kiss every inch of her; let his hands rediscover her soft curves and silky smooth skin, he'd worship her body. She was his salvation in ways even he didn't understand and she'd be damned if she let anyone take him from her.

"I love you…" The words were a whisper into his hair, his arms instinctively tightened around her waist. She closed her eyes, the world forgotten for the time being.

* * *

The Shinra headquarters was bustling with an unusual amount of energy and soldiers today. There were grunts running around, loading trucks with ammo, guns, and food supplies. Several First Class officers had been called in which, to all present, meant something serious was about to happen. Zack sighed, blowing his black spikes out of his face. He hated waiting, hated sitting still and doing nothing. _Nothing_, he couldn't even help the lowly infantry load the damn trucks. He had to _sit_ and _wait_ and do _NOTHING_!

"What seems to be the problem, private?" Zack nearly leapt out of his skin, gasping as he quickly stood and saluted.

"Sir, nothing, Sir!" He flushed slightly at being caught lounging.

"At ease, Fair. Angeal had asked me to…collect you." Genesis gave a smirk at the younger man. He was intimidating in his own right, though not nearly as much as his comrade.

"Yes, sir." Zack heaved a sigh of relief as they made their way to the control room. He was shocked, to say the least, to find Tseng and President Rufus standing there with their accompaniment of Turks.

"Ah, Zack Fair is it?" Zack nodded, standing at attention as the president spoke. "We have a situation developing in Midgar," Rufus handed over a black file. Zack glanced down at it and back up at the president and Turk commander.

"This is…" Tseng nodded as Zack paled slightly. _'Sephiroth?' _"What are my orders?" He dreaded having to go collect the general himself. The man wasn't exactly known for being very kind or particularly understanding.

"Go to Nibelheim and alert General Sephiroth, he'll want to handle_ this _situation personally." Tseng grinned and to Zack it seemed that he was all too pleased to send the young man to his most certain doom. "This organization, Deepground, they are the ones responsible for destroying Junon. There isn't much time, Angeal will meet you there." Tseng collected the file from Zack, he smirked again as he saluted, bowed, and nodded, completely flustered.

'_I have to go tell the General that…Gods, he is going to kill me!'_ Zack collected his massive buster sword, all the rations he would need, and his orders from Elena. He packed up his motorcycle, readying all his equipment and any materia he'd had stashed in the beast of a bike. Elena waited non too patiently, tapping her foot in irritation.

"Now, Zack…the parameters for this mission are strict and you must _not_ deviate." She stated in a matter-o-fact tone. "The general is urgently needed on the front line. He will rendezvous with Genesis in Kalm and from there he must hurry to Midgar, before it's too late." She handed him yet another portfolio.

"Gods, think they have enough paper work?" He muttered flipping through the hefty packet.

"You would do well not to make light of this situation, _sir._" Elena's tone left no room for argument and Zack instantly felt ashamed for insulting the work she'd done. "You have seven hours to get to Nibelheim, I suggest you hurry." She turned on her heel, walking rapidly away. He sighed heavily, pulling his phone from his pocket and dialing the number from memory.

_Turks…smug bastards.' _He thought wryly as she forced her way through people and disappeared from sight.

"Hello, love. Yes, I am heading there now. I'll call again as soon as I'm able." He laughed lightly at the other person. "I knew you would, I'll lock the church up on my way out of town. I love you too, Aerith." He flipped the device closed and lowered his goggles, revving the black motorcycles engine and roaring off toward the end of town. He made a mental note to collect a few lilies from the church, they were Aerith's favorite. He smirked to himself, no one who knew him would have ever thought he, of all people, would ever settle down with anyone. Aerith was spectacular and different in her own right, an angel in his eyes. He'd married her after fifteen years of knowing her and only two of actually 'dating'. He'd said he just _knew_ she was the one, no one else could instill such a sense of love, desire, comfort…anything in him like she could.

He was glad to have a chance to spend some time with her, being stationed in Edge for the last three months was, while not entirely unpleasant, a little too far from his new wife. One year, three months, six days, and eleven hours they'd been married. Zack glanced down at the silver band on his finger, oddly he didn't feel as 'tied down' as he'd anticipated, he felt fine. Completely content to have the woman of his dreams by his side...forever.

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I own nothing, just random thoughts put into fic form. Hope you enjoy, criticism is always welcome! R&R = 3


	2. Chapter 2

_Introductions abound this chapter. I know some people probably don't know where we were going with Jenova, rest assured it has been completely covered. And if you think this is good you should thank Valentine'sNinja, if not feel free to blame me ;) Hahahaa, ok. Go read 'Love Game' cause it's freaking awesome! As if it would be anything less ;)_

_**Edit-**Thank you, Valentine'sNinja, for pointing that out...the their's and there's have been fixed :)_

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Tifa had spent the better part of her morning cleaning and getting things ready for dinner that evening. Sephiroth had been more or less lurking in the shadows of whatever room she was in, watching her. He could tell she was tense; dinner with Jenova was never just 'dinner'. Jenova had a way of getting under her skin and pushing all the right buttons to make Tifa a very angry, and equally dangerous, woman. He watched her, dusting the counters while arranging pictures and the few knick-knacks they had, humming, and smiling. He thought about how often she smiled versus the very rare occasions when he did. As she moved he saw how her martial arts training was constantly in play, he couldn't help but admire her perfect form. A thought struck him, he _admired_ her. He quirked an eyebrow at the idea, watching her more intently as she moved to one of the shelves that was just over her head, she moved too quickly and knocked a 'Recovery' materia from its stand. She caught it between deft fingers, not flinching or gasping in panic. She placed it back in it's stand and turned toward him.

"Ok, I can handle you watching me once in a while, but seriously…you've been staring for most of the morning and you follow me from room to room without-mmmph!" He rose mid sentence and was kissing her before she could finish her tirade. He pressed his forehead to hers, taking in the simplicity of her presence. "…hey, you ok?" She had been worried since the two men that had come to town the night before. He had been unusually quiet and reserved.

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_"Gen..General Sephiroth, sir." The younger of the two men attempted to address him. He resisted the urge correct him, raising an eyebrow in silent and ever growing fury. "President Rufus and Master Tseng of the Turks have sent us to request your re-enlistment...immediately." Zack, as he was introduced by Angeal, was the newest addition to the First Class ranks. For a seasoned soldier, he seemed quite nervous. Sephiroth couldn't help the less than pleasant grin he gave the boy as he stumbled through yet another sentence._

_"The President? You mean that ShinRan brat, Rufus...I don't take orders from him and I don't take orders from pups like **you**_ _either!" He bit out when Zack gave him the 'offer he wasn't supposed to refuse' bit. _

_"Sephiroth, believe me if it wasn't such a...shall we say, personal, matter, they would not have on called you." Angeal, ever the diplomat and long time friend of the General's, cut in. Zack heaved a heavy sigh of relief when the general's attention was turned anywhere but on him._

_"What could they possibly be doing to involve _me_? I've cut ties with ShinRa peacefully." Sephiroth prepared to shut the door, friend or not he was not about to join the ranks of those blood thirsty dogs again...not now, not when he had his life back._

_"Professor Hojo has resurfaced...and so have a number of his experiments." Angeal noted, with a small amount of satisfaction, that Sephiroth's eyes widened a fraction in shock._

_"Deepground? That's impossible, they were cancelled...You're certain?" Angeal handed over a disk containing images and fragments of intercepted transmissions from the nefarious orginization._

_Sephiroth stared long and hard at the photo's and the video. Azul punched a man so hard in the chest his ribs errupted from his sides like wings...Rosso cut down a boy, no older than ten or eleven, attempting to flee. Sephiroth felt his stomach churn with fury at the thought of the man who created him being such a horrific monster...and his mother as gentle as a lamb. For not the first time he wondered if he would have wound up as crazy as that old man if Tifa hadn't come along. He handed the disk back with a furrowed brow. _

_"I shall contact you tomorrow." He began, only to be interupted by the boy again._

_"Sir, we're needed immediately on th-" Angeal clapped Zack on the shoulder, distracting him for a second._

_"We shall wait to hear from you, sir." The older man nodded, practically dragging Zack behind him. Sephiroth shut the door as they left, leaning heavily on the frame. He could surpress the torrent of emotions and visions of his past...Tifa would never forgive him if he did what they asked, if he didn't then more innocent lives would be lost..._

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"It seems they've found another use for me." Tifa sucked in a painful breath and began trying to squirm from his grasp. "Hold still…Tifa, I know-" In a surprising feat of strength she managed to pry herself loose.

"No! You said you quit, you said you'd never go back. That was the _only_ reason I followed you back here. You said you were _DONE!"_ He had been expecting her anger, but that didn't mean he'd bothered to prepare himself for it and he flinched at her raised voice.

"Tifa, listen to me." He didn't bother raising his, and she stopped shouting in order for him to speak. "I do not wish to leave you here alone. Nothing in this world could harm me, nothing can keep me from you…" He cupped her cheek, taking in her ruddy brown eyes and pouting petal pink lips. He had an immense desire to protect her, to keep her near him. He wasn't quite sure what it was he felt, he just knew only she could make him feel whole and human again. "You are all that matters, not ShinRa, not power…just…" He took in a breath, glancing down at his boots and her bare feet. He grinned inwardly at her incessant need to have 'free feet'.

"I love you, Sephiroth." Her words, though whispered, held something like anger in them. He looked into her eyes and saw her fear, and while he felt something akin to wonder, she clearly felt something painful. She may not have known what all he'd done in his past but she knew exactly what it took to turn a man into something less human. She'd seen them do it to Vincent and Lucrecia. "But I will not stand by while they drag you down again…" She closed her eyes, grimacing at the gnawing pain in her gut. He was surprised to find it hurt him to see her this way. "Don't go where I can't follow, don't leave me here in the dark again. I need you…do you understand? I _need_ you!" She was gripping him by his leather coat and white tunic. His leather creaking in protest as she roughly yanked him down into a possessive kiss.

He held his breath, memorizing that moment, those words…she rarely opened up to him about her feelings. His own reservations on sharing what he felt had rubbed off on her.

He returned the kiss with fervor, suddenly wanting to show her how he felt, words were not his forte and this was something he knew he was good at. He gripped her by the hips, lifting her up so that her legs wrapped around his waist. He managed to get to the couch, molding himself perfectly against her. He moved to kiss her cheek and froze as he kissed something salty and wet. His eyes flew open, full of concern and curiousity.

"I'm so afraid I'll lose you this time…I don't want to be alone." She whispered, covering her face with her hands. He watched her silently, almost curiously as she wept.

He lifted one hand to gingerly collect a stray tear. "Don't cry…" He whispered, bewildered by the sight of her tears. In all the years he'd known her, not once did he see her cry. "Don't…not for me." His voice was strained, his entire physical being aching for her. A sensation that was altogether new for him, and entirely unpleasant.

Tifa took one deep breath and moved her hands. She watched him as he studied the tear, completely awestruck by its very existence. He glanced down at her and with a deliberate slowness he bent his head toward hers. He kissed along the shimmering path her tears had traveled. She gasped at the blatant show of affection. He kissed along her cheek and down to her ear. "You're not alone…" She whimpered against his lips. "I will always return to you…" He sucked in a breath as she slipped her hands beneath the leather of his jacket and began to work it off his shoulders. He watched her as she carefully undid each button of his shirt and slid that off, moving on to the buckles of his pants. He stopped her hands quickly with his.

"Don't…" She bit out quickly. He watched her with a look of something between shock and desire. "Please, before I have to lose you again." Sephiroth felt something in him twist at that. It may have been years ago, but the memory still burned bright in her eyes. In that moment she saw him as the ShinRa dog he had been, though in her defense he was returning to those people after swearing nothing short of Meteor could bring him back. He watched her a moment, his expression softening as he slowly released her hands. Their eyes were locked as she quickly undid the buckles with practiced ease and began to slide the heavy fabric down.

Once free of his clothing he turned his attention to hers. He took great care to be as gentle as possible as he lifted her shirt, placing soft kisses against her abdomen and up along her collar bone, stopping a breath away from her lips as he carelessly tossed the shirt away. He lowered himself back to her stomach, kissing around her navel and lower. He slid his fingers just under the top of her black pants, gently tugging them down. He kissed along one hip and across to the other, moving slowly toward the inside of her thigh, causing her to gasp and sigh his name. He sat up slowly, taking in the image of her lying nude on the black leather couch beneath him. Her hair was splayed wildly about her, her eyes were heavy with desire and need, and her cheeks were stained pink. He couldn't remember her ever being more beautiful than she was right then, and it surprised him even more that she felt anything at all for him…let alone _love._ She lifted herself up to meet him, cupping his cheek carefully in one hand as she leaned in to kiss him.

"Tifa…I-" She stopped short, her eyes slowly lifted to meet his. She was shocked at the pain she saw there.

"Seph-" She started only to be silenced by his lips crashing against hers briefly.

"I do love you…" He grimaced as he said it. Tifa's stomach knotted up suddenly and he smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry...I don't say it enough." He whispered as he watched her eyes light up and her lips turn in the barest of smiles. She gasped aloud as one hand wrapped itself in the hair at the base of her neck and tugged her head back roughly, leaving her throat exposed. His other hand had found its way to her hip and was slowly turning himself and guiding her to his lap. He felt a primal desire well up in him at the sight of her straddling him, bare for all the world to see. This incredible creature, this woman who had stuck by him through the worst of it all, who never questioned him, and left everything she knew and loved to follow him halfway across the planet. The only woman he had ever had the capacity to care for with such.

Her eyes locked on his for a brief moment, her breath coming in shallow gasps as he held her still. "Sephiroth…" She breathed, leaning forward slowly she let her lips trail along the column of his throat up to his ear. She felt a sense of pride knowing that only she ever saw this side of him. He growled out her name, his grip on her hips tightening as he thrust up to meet her. She moaned softly, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as he moved against her at an achingly slow pace. It always seemed so unbelievable to her that _she_ had been the one to melt the General's heart and that he could make her so incredibly happy.

With every gasp and sigh he felt more of himself being lost in the woman above him. She absorbed all that was broken and miserable in him and left him feeling whole and fulfilled. No one had been able to give him anything like that. She groaned as he moved with deliberate, slow strokes, a wicked grin spreading across his features.

"Why…why do you…torture me so?" She gasped out, smiling despite herself.

"Your beauty is unparalleled in the throes of passion…" She felt her heart constrict at the compliment and in that moment she felt nothing but wanton desire.

"_Gods, I _need_ you…_" Tifa whispered huskily against his ear, again catching him by surprise. He loosened his hold on her hips. She gripped his shoulders, taking all control from him. She came down hard and moved quickly against him. He threw his head back letting loose a deep moan. His hands moved up to her ribs, his fingers clenching spasmodically against her skin.

They chanced a glance at one another, his eyes were a deep sea green, his irises were almost cat-like as he watched her. Her eyes had darkened beyond her mahogany to a almost blackish brown. They were mesmerized, leaning in quickly to capture the others lips, tasting skin, hands again roaming one another. He shifted their position once again. Tifa gasped as her overheated skin came into contact with the cool leather of the couch. He watched with a sly grin as she clutched at his forearms, fingers clenching with each thrust. She felt her release building quickly now. His lips trailed along her throat, down along her collarbone and lower still. With one hand holding his weight, the other traced teasingly along the supple swell of her breast. She whispered his name like a prayer as his fingers worked their way up to one pert nipple. He glanced up at her, loving each sigh and gasp as he continued tease her. She slowly opened her eyes, meeting his aquamarine. He graced her with a rare warm smile. She couldn't seem to break his stare as he slowly bent to place a teasing kiss against the now taut flesh. His smile became a feral grin and he quickly wrapped his lips and teeth around the aroused nipple, licking and nibbling in time with each thrust. She felt white heat building in the pit of her stomach as he moved to the other neglected breast, lavishing it with as much attention as the first.

Suddenly all she saw was white as delicious shudder ran through her body. She cried out his name as her nails dug into his shoulders. After a few sinuous strokes he followed her over the edge, collapsing above her on the couch. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his hair against his cheek. When her trembling didn't subside he pulled back to look at her. Fresh tears made their way down her cheeks. Without another word he rose, helping her to stand on shaky legs, he led her to their room and into their bathroom. He quickly turned on the water, checking to make sure it was the temperature he knew she liked before turning back to her. He didn't say anything as he gently cupped her cheek, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. He couldn't help but smile, no one had ever _wept_ for him…had ever felt anything at his leaving. There were so many things about the woman before him he was quickly realizing he couldn't bear to live without.

When the water was deep enough, he moved to get in and pulled her in to sit in front of him. Their bathtub was an older, free standing porcelain model. Tifa had always loved that the two of them could easily fit inside it. They lay there a long while as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. She was silent for a good thirty minutes before speaking again.

"What are they having you do?" Her voice was hardly above a whisper.

"Eradication of a terrorist cell…" He felt her tense up. She knew of only two terrorist group that ShinRa would see fit to bring in the 'General'.

"Avalanche…?" She never truly felt they deserved the bad rap they had. After all, no one ever died as a result of their protests, lost power maybe…but never their lives. Their most recent act was to set a bomb in on of the mako reactors in Junon. Supposedly there had been military personnel in the reactor at the time, or so President ShinRa was saying. Tifa had spoken to Reeve not a month ago and he had told her there was no possible way anyone would have been in that reactor. It was scheduled for maintenance…no one is stupid enough to go trucking through a leaky mako reactor.

Sephiroth simply grunted in reply, shaking his head in the negative.

"Is it...what was that group called? Deep Rock, or Deep something...?" She frowned, they were much worse than Avanlanche...they really killed people. They were not as discriminent with their attacks, preferring to strike fast and hard. Avalanche was more diplomatic and cared for the people.

"Deep Ground." He answered simply, lounging and enjoying the feel of the woman in his arms.

"Why? What could they have possibly done to merit _your_ attention?" She shifted her position.

"They killed Scarlet and Heidegger." He spoke in monotone. Truthfully he felt they'd done the planet a great service…

Tifa thought for a moment, trying to place faces with the names. "…How?" She asked after a moment of deliberation.

"Supposedly they were en route to the reactor, it was an ambush...they're trying to make it look like your beloved Avalanche..." Sephiroth slowly began to sit up as the water had begun to cool. Tifa stepped out grabbing a towel for herself and handing him the other. "There are so many unknowns…something isn't right.I've seen the photos and logs they intercepted from the DG's. It just seems too easy." He stated with some amount of concern.

"Sounds like a set-up. " Tifa replied. She walked away toward their room to get dressed. Sephiroth stopped her, turning her toward him.

"Hojo...he's the scientist who headed Deep Ground, he and Hollander...and my mother." Tifa felt her knees turning to jelly and forced herself to stay standing. "I was chosen because he is my father and I am part of a select group of soldiers who are strong enough to stand up to them..."

"That's why they were here...Will Cloud be going?" He shook his head.

"He is to stay here, with you and take care of you." Tifa frowned.

"You're not doing this just so you don't have to be here to have dinner with Jenova are you?" He chuckled, nudging her toward their room now that her spirits had lifted enough to crack a joke.

"No, I would never stoop so low." He smirked behind her. She hummed back at him shaking her head.

Once clothed and warm she sat at the foot of their bed. Sephiroth made his way to his side of the bed, urging her to move toward him. She moved up to lie flush against him. He marveled at how perfectly she fit in his arms and wondered again why it was so hard for him to just be open with her. He made a pact with himself, once this mission was over he'd give her all that he had. She wanted a family, he had always been fairly opposed to the idea, however, anything that made her happy was worth at least trying.

"You had better come back the same man." She whispered into his shoulder as she absently toyed with the long strands of his silver hair.

"I promise, Tifa." He waited until her breathing evened out and she was asleep before he moved. He stood in the door way for a long while, watching her sleep. He could make out the faint ringing of his PHS, regrettably having to leave his vigil to answer it.

"Sephiroth…" His tone was solemn as he recognized the number.

"_It's time, General…" _A voice spoke lightly back at him. _"It has been too long since I've had the pleasure of working with you, ne Sephiroth?" _He hated that egotistical man more in that moment than any other time before. If they'd sent for Genesis then all his hopes of this being a legitimate mission were shot to hell.

"Indeed, Genesis…meet at the rendezvous point in no more than three hours time." Sephiroth ended the call and grit his teeth. _"Fuck!" _He growled out to himself. He turned quickly toward the bedroom he shared with Tifa. She lay still, sleeping fitfully. He made his way over to her side, gently stroking her hair. She stilled, sighing contentedly as his fingers traced along her jaw line. He regretted letting Angeal talk him into this. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to burrow into the warmth of her arms and hide from all the world. While he would never admit to it, he was absolutely terrified of what he knew himself capable of. If taken by his well known bloodlust he could easily turn on even Tifa if she were near enough, and how would he live with himself then? Go back to be the callous, cold shell he had been before she's come along? There would be no way, not now that he knew what he'd been living without.

"I have to leave you now, my love…forgive me." He whispered against her ear. He would never chance saying such a thing while she were awake, though asleep he didn't feel the same reservations. She sighed his name and didn't wake. He left their room and made his way to the living room, quickly folding her scattered clothes and collecting his own. He redressed in his traditional leather and made for their training room where he kept Masamune. In the case with his sword was a handful of materia, a summon, recovery, and a few rare ones Tifa had given him a few years back when they had first met. He left her with his black materia. It had once been the thing that made him stronger, nearly invulnerable, a great source of power…though all that had come at a high price. If she and Cloud hadn't worked together to stop him he could have easily destroyed Midgar, if not the world…Limitless power in such a small simple orb. She let him keep the thing for the simple reason he would not be tempted again, he wasn't usually one to be fooled twice.

Taking one last look around their home he sighed and made his way out to the back where his golden chocobo waited for him. She was as loyal as they came, having seen him through countless battles and bearing the scars to prove it. She'd taken several bullets for him, protected him and carried him without fail through places even the bravest man would have shied from. He had named her Piety, though originally he had intended to simply call her 'Chocobo 1', after Angeal pointed out the meaning of devotion and her inane and stubborn will to follow him.

The massive gold warked softly as he neared her, greens in hand. She waited patiently for him to open the stall and get her saddled before turning for the treat. She took great care in taking the greens, making sure her beak didn't so much as graze his skin. He didn't bother with reins, as she was vastly more intelligent than any other chocobo. He turned away motioning for her to follow. They walked to the edge of his property when he finally mounted.

"I must speak with Cloud before we are to leave." The bird whistled softly in response before picking up her pace and heading toward Jenova's home. As she rounded the corner he saw Jenova, her silver hair dancing in the wind. Sephiroth couldn't remember the last time he'd seen it down and despite himself he thought the image of her standing there against the wind was rather striking. Not quite beautiful, but there was something about _her_ that seemed different then.

"Sephiroth, dear boy, is that you?" Her sickly sweet voice never ceased to send chills along his skin. The bird stopped and lowered herself to the ground in order to allow him to dissmount.

"I must speak with Cloud, is he here?" She nodded toward the kitchen, smiling in the moonlight. Her eyes seemed almost an eerie red in the reflection of the light. They shared more physically in common than he and his mother. He had the recessive hair gene that somehow turned his hair a silver grey around seven years of age. Cloud was the toe-head and resembled a chocobo, for which he recieved endless torment in school. Until Sephiroth had found out, that is. Needless to say, no one messed with the Crescent boys. Despite being the quiet one, Cloud was the last one to turn down a fight...especially in his brother or his mother's honor. Sephiroth was much the same, though more disciplined.

He entered the house, moving like a ghost through the kitchen and toward the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. He felt him before he heard him speak.

"I'm right here." Cloud intoned softly from his seat in the living room. He was reading another manual on his motorcycle.

"Chocobo's are more cost effective...you are also less likely to perish should you accidently fall off of one." He said with a smile.

Cloud didn't respond save for a look. "Right, because _me_ riding a chocobo wont bring back any terrible school memories...jackass." He smirked. "Where are you going?"

"Junon. Hojo has returned and is stronger and better armed, or so they say." He answered with a wry smile.

"Still wont be a fair fight, I imagine Genesis and Angeal will be there as well?" Sephiroth nodded. "I assume you would like me to stay with Tifa." He glanced up at his brother, noting his obvious reservations, seeing the doubt and worry in his eyes was unsettling to say the least. "Be careful, brother." Cloud stood, grasping his forearm and pulling him in for a hug. "Minerva be with you."

"And you, Cloud." Sephiroth bowed his head and nodded once more. "Thank you..."

"You don't need to thank me, it's what brother's do for one another. Though, should you need us we will be here and ready." Sephiroth smirked at that. Tifa was one hell of a fighter and so was his brother.

"I will call if I need it." With that Sephiroth was back out the door.

"Your father has returned has he?" Jenova sounded more than pleased with this. Sephiroth stopped at the gate, glance back at her over his shoulder.

"I will be sure to tell him you send your regards..." There was no mistaking the venom in his tone. She laughed lightly behind him.

"I'm sure that wont be necessary, dear." Her voice grated on him and for not the first time he resented the fact that she had not been drowned at birth.

"Cloud will be with her and you _will_ be respectful..." He noted her laughter stopped abruptly and her smile had faded. He quickly passed through the gate and to his chocobo without another word. Worry gnawed at him, Jenova was as underhanded and dangerous as any snake...if she was pleased with Hojo's return then she probably had something to gain from it.

-

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_A/N: Ok, so maybe not so many introductions. Hope you enjoyed it. I know this is far from the standard pairing in most ways, but it had to be done. Sephiroth and Tifa are two of my favorites to write and who knows...sometimes change is nice :D So, hopefully someone is out there reading this and thinking of ways they can help me perfect it, yeah? R&R pleeeassee!!_


	3. Chapter 3

_*I fixed a few errors and whatnot...I need a beta, or a longer attention span.*_

_A/N: I have to say thank you to those of you that took the time to review, especially Valentine'sNinja for saving me with those dreaded grammar mistakes. I really had no idea it was that bad until I started re-reading it for the fifth and sixth time. It's nice to see a few people are interested :D_

**XxXxX**

Tifa had spent the better part of the next day cleaning house and preparing dinner. She'd laid down for a nap only to be woken by the sound of pounding, in her head or on the door she wasn't sure, but she leapt out of bed and rushed toward the sound with bleary eyes. Since Sephiroth had left last night she opted to postpone the dinner to tonight, having her nerves worn thin and then testing her patients with Jenova was a recipe for disaster. She threw the door open and nearly crawled out of her own skin. Thankfully her years in drama had come in handy and she managed not to let her shock show.

"Jenova…how nice to see you." Tifa plastered a picture perfect smile on her face, forcing any negative feelings out of sight.

"So he left you here, did he? Pity, I'm sure you would have at least been of _some_ use there." Tifa kept her smile artfully intact while gritting her teeth at the woman's implications.

"Jenova." Cloud intoned from behind her, easily gliding around her to Tifa's side. "Hello, Tifa." He nodded to her, grateful for any company other than his semi psychotic aunt. "Careful, she's been waiting all day for this…" Cloud spoke softly as he returned a warm hug. Tifa groaned, covering it up with a chuckle.

"Well, I have some steaks marinating and a Wutaian salad for you, Jenova. Sephiroth made a fresh pitcher of sun tea yesterday before he left…oh, I also have some good old fashioned roasted Nibelheim potatoes as well, so hopefully you're hungry." Tifa smiled, finding some comfort in the fact that Cloud was there to suffer through dinner with her.

"Sounds absolutely _scrumptious, _sweetheart." Jenova gave her a perky grin of her own, sending chills down Tifa's spine. She watched with a guarded smile as Jenova made her way to the kitchen. A vegetarian and a painter with a dash of psychosis, Jenova was quite possibly the most intimidating woman Tifa had ever had the displeasure of knowing. She watched her glide out of the room, humming to herself as she went. She wore a beautiful pale blue gossamer like dress that flowed like water around her and hovered a breath from the ground. The color brought out the eerie blue haze of her eyes and her silver locks, which were bound in bun with a simple strip of similarly colored ribbon. Jenova reminded her of a praying mantis, clever in her disguise and no less dangerous.

"Sephiroth asked me to stay with you, would you prefer I didn't?" Cloud stood just behind her, his voice far softer and gentler than Sephiroth's and yet so similar.

"I think it'd be lovely to have someone to talk to, and besides…" She glanced toward the kitchen. "Might do _Jenny_ some good to spend a little time alone." They chuckled at their own inside joke. Tifa was about to shut the door when an abrupt knock caused her to jump.

"Sorry ma'am, you'll have to forgive his imprudence…" She recognized his voice, though she hadn't gotten a very good look at his face the other night before Sephiroth had sent her off. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Angeal Hewley, Soldier 1st Class and this is Zack Fair, 2nd Class." She had to blink a few times to replace her pleasant mask, she was far less than pleased to see them at her door.

Cloud clearly sensed her distress and quickly came to the rescue. "It's okay, Tifa. Angeal is an old friend." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Tifa bowed her head and hid her eyes, offering a stiff smile before stepping aside to allow the two men entrance. "Nice to see you again, Zack." Cloud shook the younger mans hand with vigor, surprising Tifa. "I went through my training with Zack." Zack grinned at her shoving his hand out toward her.

"Hey there, nice to meet the lady of the house finally. It's an honor, really." She met his icy blue stair head on, her fingers twitched in annoyance but she accepted the proffered hand, her growing dislike for the man hidden behind a flimsy smile.

"Likewise, please come in I was just about to put dinner on. There's plenty to go around." She motioned toward the kitchen. Angeal hesitated when Zack gave him an enthusiastic grin and thanked her profusely before following Cloud to wherever it was Jenova had disappeared to.

"You are less than pleased with us, I'm sure. I do apologize, and please understand I had no control over the decision." Angeal folded his hands in front of him, taking in the quaint home. It was clear they shared decorative tastes as the walls were a neutral white and sparsely covered. He caught sight of a black box on the mantle and felt his heart rate increase just the slightest bit.

"Well, let it never be said that you were an unintelligent man." She turned on her heel. "It took two _long_ years to get him this far. He's not an animal and yet that seems to be the only way for you people to use him. He's that little brat's guard dog, only good for hurting people…No, I'm not happy you came to see me. I'm not happy with that giddy boy playing soldier in there with Cloud, and I'm absolutely _**not**_ happy he left me here alone when there are any number of things that could happen to him out _there_. However; he would never turn you away and so neither shall I...lest I tarnish his good name." She spun and glared hard at him. Angeal felt a grin spreading across his face.

"I can see why he is so fond of you." He stated simply, earning something between a snarl and a grin from her. "He is in good hands, and in return I agreed to keep an eye on what he could not here." Angeal followed Tifa to the kitchen where he kindly accepted a glass of sweet tea.

"Well, that's very noble of you. Defending a town you don't even know…" She bit back with a less than friendly tone. "I'm sure he's grateful for that." Angeal let out a heavy sigh, glancing at his boots for a moment. Tifa cleared her throat, suddenly feeling quite embarrassed. "I'm sorry…I should know better than to throw a fit like that."

"It's quite alright, Miss Lockhart." He gave her a weary smile moving to the window to see what his young charge was up to. Cloud sat with Zack and a Jenova on the patio. A massive grey dog lay at Cloud's feet, its ears twitching with the conversation. Jenova could have passed as Sephiroth's sister, they were so similar. Her hair was a shade darker, more like mercury, and her eyes were an iridescent blue…she unnerved him in a way he couldn't pin point. Her smile reminded him of more of the malevolent grin of an enraged behemoth than anything. There was nothing behind her eyes, she was looking at Zack as he spoke, tearing him apart with a glance. "Who is she?" His voice came out gruff and slightly less composed than he had intended.

"Who? Her? Ugh…Jenova Crescent, Lucrecia's sister. Demon spawn, if you ask me…why?" She chanced a glance at him, he was studying the woman the way a big cat stared down it's prey, and that made Tifa nervous.

"Is there something _wrong _with her?" She couldn't help but ask, especially when his eyes darkened with the knowledge that she was related to the late scientist.

He was quiet a moment before turning back to Tifa and smiling politely. "Of course not, I was just surprised. She looks so much like the General."

"It's the hair…I think." She cast the woman a look, Jenova seemed to always know when Tifa was watching her and her eyes darted up to the younger woman's, freezing her for a moment. Her smile was more of a threat than a kind gesture, baring her teeth in a show of force.

Tifa shied away from the window, returning to the steaks. "I don't want to cook out there with her, if I had it my way she wouldn't even be here…that woman makes me very uneasy."

"Is that so?" Angeal quirked an eyebrow when the woman erupted into laughter at something Zack had said. Tifa suppressed a shudder at the sound. It was like razorblades dancing on glass.

"She thinks I'm nothing more than a twenty gil whore, she would probably drown any children Sephiroth and I had…if we decided to have any. She's just…not right, you know? Can't you feel it? Just _look_ at her…her eyes don't even hold a reflection. She's been in and out of rehab more times than Rufus's been shot at." Angeal chuckled at that.

"That's saying quite a lot, considering the later is an almost daily occurrence these days." She frowned at that.

"I'm sorry, bad joke…I didn't mean any disrespect." He muttered apologetically.

"No, it's fine…" She collected the steaks in one hand and the salad in the other and headed for the door to the patio. "I just ask that you keep an eye on that woman and any knives that might be meandering toward my back." She winked as she ducked out the door.

"Thank you for inviting the pup and I into your home after all this. I can understand your anger…I am here to protect _you _more than this town. The General's first order. Aside from Genesis, I am the highest ranked SOLDIER, Zack and Cloud will be promoting next spring…He would only have the best to protect that which is important to him, and now I see why." Tifa smiled, cocking her head to the side in curiosity.

"Why is that?" He watched her, calculating her response.

"Do you know very much about Jenova?" She felt her smile falter a bit at the serious tone he quickly took on. She shook her head, keeping her back to the woman in question. "You seem acutely aware of her, how shall we say, agenda? It seemed to me that you knew more than you were letting on. Simple woman's intuition then?" Tifa chuckled.

"Yeah, something like that. She just makes me nervous, she's always watching me…like a predator hunting its prey, she's creepy." Tifa shook her head in order to shake away the terrible feeling that the other woman evoked in her.

"Don't worry, Cloud is to stay here in the house with you. Zack and I will be staying at the hotel not far from here. We'll be monitoring you daily until we can be sure about her." She found it strange how he went from jovial and chatty to serious and all business in the span of about six seconds.

"Uh, ok…should I be more concerned about her? I just thought she was odd and mean, she doesn't really seem like the kind of person who would try and kill someone." Tifa watched her out of the corner of her eye, staring up and smiling at nothing…it was eerie. Like suddenly Jenova's mind was a thousand miles away. The woman really was crazy, though. Years of Mako abuse can do that to a person…or at least that was the reasoning Tifa had come up with.

* * *

Jenova sat, only marginally aware of the two men sitting with her, her attention was on the older man in the kitchen with Tifa. She instantly hated everything about him, his proximity to Tifa, the way she smiled, and mostly it was the fact that they were discussing _her_ nephew. That woman had no right to touch him, Sephiroth was a God among men, these people should all be bowing at his feet, begging for their pathetic lives…how could he see anything worth saving in this garbage heap?

She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up and shot a glance at the kitchen window, not surprised when she saw Tifa staring dumbly at her. _'Pathetic whore…'_ she grinned and it was as if someone had molded razor sharp steal into a delicate flower. She felt a swell of satisfaction at the fear in Tifa's eyes…

The dolt of a man to her left made a joke, one which was apparently supposed to make her laugh. She did with gusto, and he appeared very pleased with himself. His face split into a broad, satisfied grin…and an idea immediately formed. She would get the tramp out of the way _and _send Sephiroth on a rampage that would leave all of Gaia quaking in his wake…

* * *

Cloud watched her out of the corner of his eye, careful not to let her notice. She was up to something, Sephiroth had a feeling she meant to harm Tifa and Cloud wouldn't put it past the woman. He looked up to his brother, and when he was but a boy he idolized him, but Jenova's interest went much deeper than simple 'Hero' worship. She babied him, ever since they were kids. She doted on Sephiroth and practically ignored him. It wasn't until he defeated his brother in the SOLDIER sword fighting tournament two years ago, and hadn't been beaten by anyone since, that she started noticing him. Cloud had always suspected it was more for the fact that he had maintained almost constant contact with Vincent Valentine for the next year, until about two months prior to his mothers death.

Tifa had always been fond of the older gunman, he was a quiet and soft spoken man, polite to a fault. He had been a Turk when he met Lucrecia nearly nine years ago. Sephiroth had been fourteen then, Cloud was twelve, and the boys took to him like he had always been a part of their lives. For three years it had been peaceful and wonderful. He had even asked Sephiroth and Cloud for permission to ask Lucrecia to finally marry him…

She'd said no, said that they should never see one another again and she took the boys away to Nibelheim, which was where Jenova had been housed for the time being. Being older never made her stronger, Lucrecia had always been seeking the approval of her sister, even after all the wrong she'd done to her. Cloud would never understand why his mother forgave that monster for all the horrible things she'd done, for stealing her happiness as well as his own, but she had…

Cloud hated the woman, and he was slow to anger and difficult to disappoint. She made him want to hurt something, he wanted to crush her the way he did the rebels in the raid on Banora last spring. He wanted to cut her just to make sure she would bleed…and he had a feeling she knew it.

His phone began vibrating in his pocket just as she took an interest in Zack, which sent a cold wave of nausea through him. Zack wasn't as ignorant as he let on, but he was good at playing dumb and ran with it.

The number on the screen was unfamiliar, it was local and he only knew a few people locally. "Hello." He spoke softly into the phone, standing and walking toward the BBQ grill.

"Cloud." The line crackled slightly.

"Vincent…" He was about ask why he called, how he got a local number, and where had he been for the last seven months only to be cut off.

"We need to talk." Cloud felt his heart suddenly kick into overdrive.

"Now probably isn't the best time-" He began only to be cut off by Vincent.

"We can meet tomorrow, if that's better." His voice seemed to lose some of it's edge.

"Yeah, that'd be good…" Cloud listened as Vincent gave him a time and place to meet. Oddly enough he seemed more inclined to meet in high places and so they would be meeting on the roof of the abandoned ShinRa mansion. Cloud, however, was less fond of heights and hesitantly agreed.

"Who ya talkin' to, Cloud?" Tifa asked as she and Angeal came out from the kitchen. He hung up without a word.

"It was just Choco Billy, one of the gold's laid an egg and he wanted to know if I was interested." Cloud answered with a genuine smile. Between him and his brother, he was definitely the better liar.

"Oh! Say yes, I always wanted my own Chocobo. Besides, Sephiroth owes me!" She said with a laugh. Cloud nodded, smiling slightly. Vincent had been gone since before his mother's death, he hadn't shown up for the funeral and he hadn't even made an attempt to talk to either one of the them after. It wasn't like Vincent to be so cold or callous, and the fact that he'd sounded rushed, maybe even a little nervous, upset Cloud.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, these are the very _best_ you can buy…and Seph is a snob." She laughed lightly, nodding in agreement with Cloud.

"He is indeed…" She felt her mind wander off, turning her attention vaguely toward the food she began to cook. Jenova seemed utterly enthralled with young Zack, while Angeal and Cloud sat quietly off to the side of the animated pair. It didn't take long to cook, and even less time to eat. Before she knew it Jenova was leaving with Zack and Angeal hot on her heels, and Tifa and Cloud were left with the house to themselves.

"Thank the gods she's finally gone…" Tifa heaved a sigh of relief.

"Billy isn't expecting any eggs till next fall." Cloud blurted out. Tifa shook her head in confusion.

"Ok, well then why did you get my hopes up over the golden egg?" She frowned playfully with her hands on her hips. "Not very nice, Mr. Crecent…"

"It's Strife, Teef. I don't use _his_ last name..." Tifa crossed her arms over her chest, fixing him with a look that meant he better start talking.

"Fine. Strife. Explain why you are trying to keep secrets from me." He chuckled at her, her stern frown cracking as she tried to fight off the urge to smile back.

"Vincent wants to meet with me, I didn't want Jenova to know I was talking to him…she gets a little...weird when it comes to Vince." Tifa felt her smile literally fall off her face as her mouth became an 'o' of surprise.

"Well…wow, ok. You two haven't really spoken much since Luce passed, have you? Did you two make amends?" Tifa seemed utterly confused and even a little defensive toward Cloud. She knew Vincent wasn't a cold man, or hadn't been until everything had gone wrong with Lucrecia. Her opinion of Jenova and Hojo seemed to drop even lower, she couldn't think of anything lower than loathing but she was certainly there.

"He and I weren't speaking because he was sure Jenova poisoned mother…he thinks she's been working for Hojo all along. Jenova accused him of coming onto her and that they had an affair...I don't know what I'm doing, but I know I need to put this behind me. Sephiroth and I both used to maintain nearly daily contact and after everything…well, we sort lost that." Cloud spoke softly, hanging his head.

Tifa nodded, unsure of what to say. "I'm going to try Seph and go to bed…It takes a strong man to confront his demons, good luck and if you need me to beat him up you just say the word." She gave him a half hearted wink before turning and heading for her room, calling out 'good night' almost as an after thought.

Cloud returned to the kitchen and dug out Sephiroth's bottle of Banoran whiskey and a small glass, filling the glass halfway and downing it almost as soon as he finished pouring. The liquid burned like fire all the way to his toes, he could taste the strange apple aftertaste that seemed common for anything that came out of that town. He slowly let go of his days troubles, pouring his second glass and sipping from it slowly, savoring the flavor and wondering how he would react to seeing Vincent after so long.

* * *

Tifa hid in her room, dialing quickly on her phone. She paced anxiously, waiting for the person on the other end to pick-up.

'_Moshi moshi?' _She let out a shuddering sigh of relief at the sound of the Wutaian woman's voice.

"Yuffie…he left." There was a coughing sound, rustling, and then the tell-tale 'oof' that signaled Yuffie stumbling over herself and likely falling to the ground.

'_Are you ok? Where did he go? Is he gone gone? I can be there by tomorrow if you need company.' _Yuffie rushed out. _'You know what, scratch that. I'm coming to see you and you can't stop me.' _Tifa chuckled softly at that, grateful for such a wonderful friend.

"Thank you. Cloud's staying with me right now, but I think he has some business of his own to attend to…" Her voice seemed to steady some. "These two SOLDIER's showed up saying they needed him to come back...and he did."

_"But he is coming back, right? He didn't leave you for the military? That seems strange, my connection has heard a lot of activity coming out of Nibelhiem and Midgar lately. Something big is coming..." _Yuffie's voice trailed off.

"Hm...he mentioned some group, uh, Deepground I think. They're pretty bad, I guess." Tifa sat herself down on the bed, staring at the floor blankly. "I'm worried about him being out there again..."

_"He's only the most decorated General in history Tifa, you're dating a registerd bad ass. He's not the one you should worry about, it's the bad guys that get in his way." _Tifa laughed at that.

"Ok, ok...well I'm going to try calling him. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Tifa felt relieved knowing she'd have Yuffie around. She was the best remedy for Tifa's sorrow and anxiety.

'_Yes ma'am! Get some sleep and tell that choco-head I want my blanket back." _She said with a laugh.

"I'll let him know you're coming tomorrow. Night, Yufs."

'_Night, Tifa.' _She quickly hung up and dialed Sephiroth, not surprised when she got his voicemail. She didn't bother leaving a message and hung up with a sigh. She shed her clothes and dug out one of his t-shirts to sleep in before crawling into bed. She'd nearly drifted off to sleep when a sudden weight on the bed startled her. Amos, a rescue mutt she'd brought home three months back, had lumbered into her room. Sephiroth hadn't been thrilled, though he didn't make her take him back either. He had grown fond of the dog, however he was firmly of the belief that he could sleep outside. Tifa almost always let him in whenever Sephiroth was away over night. Amos settled himself beside her, staring at her intently. He was part Great Dane, no telling what the other part was...but he was obviously more intelligent than most dogs.

"You silly old dog…scared me half to death." She murmured, scratching behind one ear. The dog made a grumbling noise before tucking his nose under one leg and closing his eyes. "He'd kill me if he knew I let you sleep in here." The dogs ear twitched back at her. "I wont tell either." She chuckled, readjusting herself and closing her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

**xXxXx**

_A/N: I hope this comes out ok, I've been trying to fix this for like a month! Read and review if you please. ;)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: I own nothing but the plot…and an extra special thank you to Valentine'sNinja!! Thank you for proof reading this for me :D_

xXxXx

It was nearly noon when Yuffie arrived, her suitcase trailing carelessly behind her as she shouted hello.

"Yuffie!" Tifa leapt out the door and wrapped her friend in a hug. "I'm so glad you made it, Cloud's been terrible company." She pouted playfully at Cloud, who chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure…good to see you, Yuffie." Cloud nodded toward the young Wutaian.

She blushed and waved, frowning when Tifa nudged her with a wink. "Really, Teef…I'm not overly fond of Sephiroth as it is. I don't fancy being a part of his wonky family. I can appreciate _him_ from afar just fine." Yuffie waggled her eyebrows at Tifa, who burst into giggles.

"Of course you can. You're red as a tomato, you know?" She said with a snicker. Tifa helped Yuffie unload the buggy she'd ridden in on. "This is nice, doesn't bother you to drive, huh?" Tifa gave the vehicle a quick once over.

"Nah, I take something before I drive. It isn't as bad being on the ground, I don't get vertigo or anything down here…not like up there." She pointed an accusing finger to the sky.

"Hm. Oh, I'll probably have some company again tonight. Jenova has suddenly found every reason in the book to be here at the house. She said something about having lunch with Angeal later." Tifa stomped her foot. "Gods, if I didn't love that stupid man so much I'd beat the unholy hell right out of that horrible woman."

Yuffie stiffened at the mention of the General's aunt. "She scares me. I think I might find myself somewhere else when you do that…hell, why doesn't she just take them to her home?" Yuffie began unpacking her things into the guest room.

"Don't know…she said she wanted to take the time to actually get to know me. I think she's just trying to find a convenient way to whack me. That woman is evil…" She shuddered, changing the subject quickly. "One of the soldiers here is a friend of Cloud's. You might like him, he's a male version of you." Tifa gave her a sly look.

"No one is _that_ attractive, Tifa…" Yuffie didn't miss a beat, lips quirking in a smile.

"Ha, you smug brat. Anyway, you'll get to see him later. He's obnoxious and loud, he smiles too much, and his hair is just as crazy as Cloud's…except jet black, and his eyes are blue like you wouldn't believe, and hi…what?" Tifa looked perplexed as Yuffie stood staring at her, a t-shirt hanging limply from one hand as she blinked back her surprise.

Tifa blushed suddenly, she must have sounded like some love struck teen. "He's not great, he's horrible and kept trying to get me to smile or laugh the other night." Yuffie dropped the shirt in the drawer and sat on the bed as Tifa spoke from her spot under the doorway. "He was standing right behind me in the kitchen after dinner and scared the life out of me. He kept talking about how great Sephiroth was, how cool it was to see him and Cloud spar, and how utterly awesome it is to see him 'kick the shit out of the other guy' and all the while he's got this huge shit eating grin on his face. I never wanted to hit someone so hard in my life." Tifa frowned, her fists clenched in frustration. "He's being sent to kill these rebels, people Yuf…it isn't right. He swore he'd never kill again, not after the last time." Tifa sighed, shaking her head. "C'mon, let's go do something other than watch me mope around the house."

Yuffie stood up, for the first time in a long time she didn't have any advice or anything helpful to say. She had plenty she wanted to tell Tifa, if only it wouldn't complicate everything… "Yeah, let's go get some ice cream!" she bounced in place, grinning. Tifa nodded, allowing Yuffie to lead the way.

"We're going to get ice cream, you want anything?" Tifa asked Cloud, who had been sitting quietly in the living room staring at the clock.

"No…thank you. I'm leaving in a few minutes anyway." He sounded distant and seemed somewhat preoccupied, she could tell he was anxious and dreading his meeting.

"Take a deep breath and hold your head high, you can do this." Tifa placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Any word from Sephiroth?"

Cloud shook his head. "Not from him. Tseng says they met some strong resistance, and there have been some serious casualties, though the General and his commanders are all alive and well." There was hesitance in Cloud's voice.

"Oh…ok. Good luck with Vince." Tifa turned, about to leave.

"_He_ will be able to contact you this evening…" Tifa could hardly contain the giddy joy that bubbled up suddenly within her, and smiling she opened the door and left quickly. "Yuffie…" Cloud started, making her stop, eyes on the ground. "You can't take her with you."

"Isn't that _her_ decision, Cloud? You made yours and we respected that…" Yuffie spoke softly, her brown eyes boring into his mako blue hues.

"Don't you understand? For her to leave with you would pit her directly against him. Sephiroth wouldn't love her then, he wouldn't understand. Look, I understand you are fighting for a better life and a better world…but you can't take her with you. She is sacred to him, and he would find _you_ first." There was a terrible truth to what Cloud said. "I wouldn't be able to stop him, and you know it."

"I can't give up on my best friend, this is a fight to save lives and she would understand." Yuffie flashed a smile to Tifa, who was waiting outside with Amos.

"You shouldn't fight, Yuffie-"

She stomped her foot, glaring hard at him. "If we don't fight then who will? You? ShinRa? They don't care, Cloud…" Cloud watched her with a dawning appreciation for her spirit. Yuffie was glaring back at him and for the first time in a long time he saw a woman, and not the teen he'd known, staring back at him. "You know they had nothing to do with the bombing…" Her cheerfulness and smile were gone, a mask of cold anger and bitter sadness made her appear older than she was.

He sighed in resignation…she was right. "I know, Reeve already cleared them. Go, she's going to get suspicious if you stay here much longer."

Yuffie took a breath and suddenly her smile was back in full force and she was bouncing out the door. "See ya later, choco butt!" She called over her shoulder.

"What the hell was that? Flirt…" Tifa giggled as she walked ahead of Yuffie.

* * *

Cloud made his way up to the dilapidated mansion. It wasn't as bad off as he'd thought it would be. The roof, apparently, was still intact. At least he wouldn't have to worry about falling to his death…hopefully. He made his way to the door, not surprised to find it left ajar, and entered before following the stairs up. He found the attic door, a string with a note attached to it being his only clue.

'_Pull gently. -V,'_ He rolled his eyes and gave the rope coming out of the ceiling a less than gentle tug. The door fell with such force he had to throw himself back to avoid being smashed by the stairs that fell out, making a rather loud and startling 'boom'.

"Pull gently, he says, just a quick talk…crazy old man." Cloud clambered up the stairs a bit gracelessly, still shaken. He spotted an open window and made his way through the creepy attic toward it. Climbing out he suddenly saw red, and lots of it. It completely engulfed the man wearing it. He was about to draw his weapon, unsure of who else might have known he'd set up the meeting with Vincent.

"I left a note. Simple instructions as well." He looked different, but Cloud would know that voice anywhere.

"Vincent?" He stumbled backwards, shocked. "What happ…how come you're…" Cloud closed his mouth, embarrassed by his sudden stuttering.

"This will take a while to explain…" He answered quietly, turning to face Cloud. His eyes were the color of Tifa's favorite rose, claret and alight with an eerie glow that accompanied mako use. Cloud, Sephiroth, and many of the commanders in the ShinRa army had been infused with it. It was also a difficult drug to locate, however it was rumored to be well worth it. Filling the user with feelings of utter euphoria and bliss, withdraw from it had lead to many people committing suicide or going utterly mad when the drug wore off and they suddenly could feel nothing at all. Jenova was one of the many cases in point. Hojo got her on it and Lucrecia had spent the rest of her natural life trying to get her off of it.

Cloud caught sight of something metal and golden hiding under the cloak. Vincent brought out his arm. "Hojo…he was less than pleased I had asked Luce… asked her to marry me."

Cloud kept staring. "He cut it off? He cut off your left _arm_ ?" He was both horrified and disgusted.

"Indeed. Barrett found me a man in Corel who built this for me. It isn't so bad, not quite as good as the original, but it will suffice." Cloud watched him for a moment. "I'm sorry…" Vincent spoke softly, watching the ground. "I should have found you sooner."

Cloud stared, finding it strange he couldn't think of a single thing to say to the man. He stared out toward the town; it was an incredible view…or it would have been if he wasn't so sure he was going to fall to his death at any moment. "It's alright." He found it odd, seeing Vincent with long black hair and dressed in all black leather with a red cape. "What's with the outfit?"

Vincent looked down at himself then back to Cloud. "I like leather." He answered simply.

"You look…younger." He noticed Vincent's skin seemed a little more on the pale side since the last time he saw him, too. "What else did he do to you?"

"Many things…many terrible things." Vincent closed his eyes, the howls of pain suddenly becoming near deafening in his own head.

"Ok, what did you want to talk about?" Cloud sat back, finally getting comfortable.

"Jenova is working with him," Cloud froze. "…and we have proof." Vincent held out a folder full of pictures and intercepted documents.

"Who's 'we'? Who are you working for? It certainly isn't the Turks." Cloud narrowed his eyes at him. Vincent sighed as the blond gingerly plucked the folder from his fingers and began skimming through the information.

"Avalanche…" Cloud nearly dropped the folder in shock, shooting a glare up at the older man. "Listen carefully…"

* * *

Tifa bustled happily about town, rummaging through antique shops, the market, and stopping to have a late lunch with Yuffie at a Wutaian restaurant. She was all smiles and sunshine, as if she hadn't been worried at all and Sephiroth leaving was nothing out of the ordinary. Yuffie had a hard time focusing her thoughts. Reeve had mentioned before she took some time off to spend with Tifa, Deepground was on the move and they were targeting Avalanche. She worried about Barrett and Cid, they weren't weak by any stretch…but going up against Deepground soldiers had proven to be their most challenging battle yet.

"What's wrong with you?" Tifa asked, catching the other woman off guard.

"Wha…nothing, nothing. Sorry I was just trying to remember if I asked Una to feed the cats." Yuffie gave her a convincing smile.

"That crazy lady still takes care of your cats? What does your dad say?" Tifa made a face as she stuffed another mouthful of steamed rice and vegetables into her mouth.

"He says better her than him." Yuffie giggled. "Speaking of which, I should probably call and tell him I made it ok." Yuffie hopped up and walked out of earshot. Tifa watched her and Yuffie's smile faltered slightly before she frowned outright and began shouting something in Wutanese and slammed her phone shut. Tifa, and most of the restaurant, gave her peculiar stares. Yuffie flushed deep crimson before scurrying back to Tifa's table.

"He asked if I'd 'sealed the deal' with Cloud…good god, that man is so _wrong_!" Tifa tried to hold back her laughter as she tried to calm Yuffie down.

"Look, you're twenty-one and he's probably just thinking that if you don't start contemplating getting serious now, you never will."

Yuffie glared incredulously at her. "You're on his side! You think I'm some old maid, and that I'll never find a guy at my _'advanced age'_." Yuffie huffed, crossing her arms.

"You're far from being some old hag, Yuffie. You're a young woman in her prime, you know even I worry about you sometimes. You haven't had a boyfriend for as long as I've known you…and that was three, four years ago." Tifa finished her drink and sat back with a sigh.

"Eh…just cause I don't date doesn't mean I wont find him one d-" A shout from behind made Yuffie jump a little.

"Hey! Miss Lockhart, hi!" A man with wild black spikes and blue eyes waved Tifa down. She forced a polite smile and waved back. The man took the gesture as an invitation to join them at their table. "How are you? I've been looking for you. Cloud said he had errands to run and you weren't around the house so I went for a walk." He took a seat between the two at the small table, folding his hands in front of him. Yuffie saw the simple silver colored ring adorning the all important ring finger and frowned inwardly as he tried to cover it up.

"And you stumbled upon me. Well that isn't hard considering this is a fairly small town. I can see the hotel from here." She pointed over Yuffie's head.

"Hi, I'm Yuffie…who the hell are you?" She gave his hand a look that indicated she had no intention of shaking it. He withdrew it and took a slow breath.

"Zack Fair, SOLDIER 2nd Class and-"

She held up her hand. "And I'm going to stop you right there. Before you make one more blundering pass at this fine specimen of a woman, explain first the ring on your finger and then your reasons for actively trying to get yourself skewered." To her credit, Yuffie didn't smirk or giggle when she thought of Sephiroth dancing around with Zack stuck on the end of his ridiculously large sword. Zack didn't fair so well, he flushed a deep crimson and began fumbling for words.

"Well, I, uh…I didn't mean anything, or at least I wasn't _trying _to mean anything…I just really wanted to make a good impression, because it is the general after all and he's hard to please, and intimidating, and so is Tifa, but I didn't mean…"

Tifa sighed and shook her head. "Just stop. You're forgiven, alright…?" She smiled when he had the grace to blush and bow his head.

"We've been married only a year now, and she lives here actually, and owns a small flower shop just-"

Tifa squealed excitedly, startling both Yuffie and Zack, who stared at her like she had grown a second head. "_You're _Aerith's dream man! I should have recognized the hair at least! Sheesh, I can be so blind sometimes." Tifa smiled brightly at him. "Guess you can't be too bad if you married the happiest person on Gaia."

"Just lucky, I think." He smirked, feeling a little uncomfortable with Yuffie staring him down. "I guess I should just get back to work. Here, I was asked to give you this." He pulled a black PHS from his pocket. "Sephiroth will be able to contact you on this; it's a secure line. He's pretty deep in the trenches right now. Angeal says we might be needed to help. Cloud has the option of staying behind of course…but Sephiroth and Angeal are apparently out matched…" Zack suddenly looked grim and nervous.

Tifa felt as if a massive weight had suddenly been dropped onto her shoulders. "Oh…I hadn't realized it was that bad." She sat her fork down and stared at her empty glass, willing it to fill with something with a little more kick than water.

"He isn't hurt, we just can't break through their defense. It's complicated and I'm pretty sure I'm already telling you way more than I'm supposed to." Zack said with a wry grin. Yuffie glanced at Tifa, who looked a shade paler than earlier.

"Yeah, no…that's fine. As long as he isn't hurt or anything…I was just worried he might have, or could be in some sort of danger." She smiled politely as she stood. "We were just heading home. Will Angeal be stopping by this evening?"

"No, he spoke with Jenova this afternoon and hasn't returned. I'll have him contact you as soon as I can." Zack nearly saluted and opted to wave instead.

"You'd better go find him, she's a crafty one," Tifa said with a wink before turning and heading home. Her mood had taken another serious drop, from cheerful and excited to quiet and sullen. She didn't say a word the entire way home. Once they'd reached the door she saw it was open and a few lights were on. Cloud sat inside, reading over a folder full of pictures and random printed documents. Tifa caught his eye and he offered her a faint smile before retuning to his work.

"Anything good?" She asked as Yuffie carried a few bags into the kitchen.

"Not particularly…have a good time out there?" He didn't look up, instead reading over the information detailing a certain picture.

"No…not really." She answered in a low whisper, their eyes met once more before Tifa turned away and made her way to the kitchen with Yuffie.

"I'm sure he's fine, Teef. It's Sephiroth…he's practically a God with that sword." Yuffie tried to reassure her.

Tifa smiled thankfully. "I know. I think I'm just going to get some sleep, if that's alright." She shrugged off Yuffie's hug and wandered back to her room.

Yuffie finished putting the groceries they had purchased away and went into the living room to sit with Cloud.

"Did you ever meet Vincent?" he asked. Yuffie shook her head as she skimmed over the pictures. "He was in love with my mother for a long time." Yuffie looked up at the blond. "He was a good man, a Turk…but even still he was honest and he genuinely cared about her." He frowned when he spoke. "You weren't around then…I suppose Tifa never talked much about him."

"No, well she mentioned there was only ever one real father-like figure in your lives. I didn't know his name or anything. What's wrong?" Yuffie caught the piercing glare he gave her.

"He's a member of Avalanche…" Cloud nearly growled out. "He wants me to join them, Yuffie."

"Hey, I don't know many of _them_. I work for Reeve in the WRO, who work in concert with Avalanche. We don't have the contact you might think we do with the core members. They're elites and well…look at me. I'm a clumsy ninja spy. Barrett, now he's Avalanche material, just like you were and Tifa could be."

Cloud shook his head vehemently. "She'd never go for it. Anything that's against ShinRa and Sephiroth she'd never fight for."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Is that why you left? Big brother didn't like you out pretending to be a hero?" She frowned at him, her voice thick with sarcasm.

"I left because it became dangerous for Lucrecia, I couldn't chance someone finding out she was my mother." His voice was low, giving Yuffie the feeling she was treading on dangerous ground.

She took a breath and pushed on. "What about your dad…?"

Cloud slammed his fist down on the table, making Yuffie jump and squeak in surprise. "That monster wasn't my father!" His eyes were alight with a fire she'd never seen in them before.

Yuffie slowly leaned back into her seat. "Ok. Hojo isn't your dad…then who is?" Yuffie quirked her head to one side in curiosity.

"I was a failure…" And it suddenly made sense to her why he worshiped his brother. He was the accident, the mistake. Sephiroth was perfection incarnate.

She couldn't make out what he said and leaned in closer. "A…what?"

Cloud cleared his throat and spoke up. "A failure, I was a test tube baby…well, sort of. I was created by the graces of a happy donor and invetro. I wasn't conceived naturally or by that…_thing_ masquerading as a man. I believe it was a man in Banora, I never knew his name…not that I'd go seek him out. But it would be nice to put a face to the figure." Cloud sighed heavily, leaning hard on his elbows. "That's why Vincent was so…perfect. He was there, we were young then…and he was willing to take Sephiroth and I on, two jealous and slightly overprotective teenage boys. We didn't make it easy on him, despite him being what he was. She wasn't a mark, she was our mother…and he was just another guy who'd come crawling in looking for a slice of her."

Yuffie pulled her knees to her chest and waited for him to continue, nibbling on her nails nervously. "Well don't stop, this is good! I want to know more about Lucrecia and Vincent…" Her eyes were as big as saucers, eager to hear how the tragic love story ended, or if it continued still.

"Vincent was with us for a few years, taught Sephiroth and I to fight, shoot, and most of all discipline." Yuffie nodded at that. "As you can see, Sephiroth is the far more disciplined of the two of us." Cloud gave her a sardonic smile. "He didn't dote on us the way you might if you were an ordinary guy. Buy magazines, take us to movies, or just give out handfuls of gil. He bought Sephiroth Masamune, actually had it hand made by a man in Wutai. It was the last blade he ever created, his living legacy of sorts. He taught me how to control my…temper." Cloud looked away then and Yuffie grinned.

"Didn't do such a bang up job, you're not trying to kill me yet…that's a start." She said with a laugh.

He chuckled at that. "Vincent did everything from take care of us to help her get Jenova out of hospital after prison, over and over again. He never gave up on her, no matter how hopeless or futile he knew it would be, he stood beside Lucrecia. Jenova started spending more and more time with us, and found any reason she could to be with Vincent. Everything from the grocery store to simply being at the house when Luce was out. She began to _express_ an interest in him and pursued him right in front of her. Mother didn't say anything, she didn't stop her and didn't bother with even telling Vincent why she let it happen. She loved Jenova, more than anything. It was her baby sister." Yuffie felt a deep wave of sorrow for Lucrecia. To have something you cherished and loved so deeply taken by someone you're supposed to love and protect seemed heartless. She certainly wouldn't have survived something like that.

"Jenova became violent one day when Vincent wouldn't entertain her whims of running off and having a steamy affair. I suppose the last time was over our last Christmas dinner. Jenova went into his room in nothing but a red ribbon and that evil grin. Vincent turned her away rather aggressively and left, taking Lucrecia with him. He told her he was afraid for her, that Jenova was dangerous." Cloud clenched his fists helplessly, Yuffie reached out and surprised him by grabbing a hold of one hand in both of hers. "She didn't listen, she was upset with him for making up such a ridiculous lie. When they got home again, Jenova was upstairs convulsing thanks to an overdose on mako. This was only a few days after he'd asked us if he could have the right to her hand in marriage…we were so close to being a family and that _monster_ ruined it!"

Cloud dropped his head onto his hands, his shoulders shaking with effort to hold back a flood of emotion. Yuffie clambered around the table and threw her arms around him, holding him as tight as he would allow. "I'm so sorry, Cloud…I never knew…I didn't know it would be this painful to speak of." She whispered against his shoulder. He shook his head.

"It feels good to tell someone…she killed her, in the end. Jenova poisoned Lucrecia, not with drugs but with her very presence. She was a leech sucking the life out of her, and Lucrecia died knowing it had all been for not. Jenova is a thieving lying snake!" He glowered at Yuffie, his eyes rimmed red. "I'll do it…I'll help. If it means I can avenge the woman who gave me life, I'd do anything."

Yuffie nodded and spoke before he could say anything further. "I'll leave Tifa out of it. She can have her little dream here." Yuffie looked around with a wistful smile. "I'm jealous, I would have loved to live this life with someone one day. Hard to explain to the old man why I haven't settled down just yet." She stood and made her way to her room to sleep. "Night Cloud." He waved her off with a small smile. "One day you'll have to finish telling me your mother's story."

"I promise." He answered softly, standing and making his way to his own room. "Good night, Yuffie." He closed the door with a soft click behind himself. Yuffie ducked into her own room and quickly changed, pulling a few kunai out and slipping them under her pillow before curling up in the soft sheets and down comforter and drifting off to sleep.

xXxXx

Um…this chapter sort of took off on it's own. So far I've covered like three days, or four. Either way, a lot has happened in not a lot of time. I think from here on out it'll be easier to cover a longer length of time…R&R if you don't mind :)


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: It's been a while…I own nothing. _

**_!!HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!_**

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It had been two weeks and no word from Sephiroth. Though she hadn't actually liked him, Zack had proven to be a welcome reprieve. Every time she began to think something awful had happened to Sephiroth he was there with up to the minute info on the battle and just how well he was doing. He hadn't been able to contact her due to the fighting, they were under constant attack and as such he hardly had a minute to himself. She was thankful for her friends, but it had admittedly been hard to see Yuffie leaving.

"I have to get back, dad is going nuts without me there." She winked and flashed a victory sign. "Besides, with Jenova gone it shouldn't be too bad here now."

Tifa sighed, folding her hands in her lap. "It'd be easier if I knew why she left…but maybe you're right. Tell Godo I said hello and thank him for letting me steal you away for a few weeks." Tifa stood quickly and hugged her friend. "Drive safe."

"Of course. I'll call you once I get home." She waved and turned to leave, starting the buggy and heading back out of town. Tifa waved until she was out of sight and then turned slowly toward the house. The breeze was warm and oddly comforting, she wondered about Sephiroth as she sat on the steps of her front porch.

She heard footsteps, and half expecting it to be Cloud, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Zack's voice broke the silence. "Hiya, Teef!" He shouted gleefully at her.

Zack stood grinning with Aerith. "We'd like you to come to dinner with us." She said softly. Tifa had taken quite a liking to Aerith even before she realized she was Zack's wife, she was sweet, quiet, and easily the most loving woman Tifa had ever met. She always knew just what was bothering her, and as such always seemed to know what she needed to hear to help ease her worry.

"I'd love to." She said as she stood. "Come on in, Cloud should be in Sephiroth's office." She motioned down the hall while she and Aerith made their way to the living room.

Zack smiled, ducking into the room quickly.

"Yuffie has gone ahead to scout out just how close they're getting. Vincent will rendezvous with her in Rocket Town." Cloud hadn't even looked up from the maps he had been pouring over.

"How do you always know it's me?" He stopped in his tracks, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"You stomp when you walk…look at this, she was right! That's Rosso…" Cloud shuffled through the photos and froze, turning several shades of white..

"Cloud…?" Zack eyed the picture a second time. Rosso the Crimson and what appeared to be another woman. Cloud snatched the picture back.

"This can't be right, it's a fake…she can't be…she just…" Cloud trailed off, burying his head in his hands. "I need to get some air." He stood abruptly, leaving all his work uncovered.

Zack quickly tried straightening the paper work and photos, filing everything back away as his friend stalked out of the house. "Cloud, wait…hey, man don't leave all this shit-"

"Zack Fair!" He felt himself flush at the chastising tone of Aerith's voice, only barely managing to shove the last of the evidence in the desk before she came flying around the corner with a scowl.

"Sorry, honey…" He smiled sheepishly at her.

Tifa looked around quickly, worry and fear working their way into her features at an alarming rate. "Where's Cloud?"

"He just went out for a minute…he'll be right back." Zack tried to reassure her, wincing at the look of utter abandonment that had briefly taken residence in her eyes.

Tifa turned abruptly, unsure of why her emotions were running haywire on her and a bit concerned. She hadn't been feeling well since he had left, she hadn't been sleeping well, she couldn't even concentrate when she went out to practice her martial arts. Where her movements were once fluid and precise she found herself clumsy and uncoordinated. The mere thought that Cloud had left nearly sent her into a fit of tears. She snatched the black PHS off her dresser, dialing the only number the phone's memory had.

She waited, her breath coming in ragged gasps as it rang twice, three times, and then a fourth. She nearly hung up when the rasp of his voice cut the fifth ring off.

"Tifa…" She let out a ragged breath at the sound of her name.

"I'm so sorry…I hadn't heard from…I needed…I just, I.." Her voice broke as she tried in vain to form a coherent sentence. "I just wanted to hear your voice." She managed in a weak whisper.

She smiled at the sound of his gentle chuckle. "All is well, Tifa. We completed our mission in Junon and moved on to Midgar." He grumbled at something and she heard papers rustling. "Is everything alright there?"

"I think so, I haven't been sleeping well…but maybe I was just worried. I hate this god damned waiting." She hissed. "I wish I knew what was going on, Vincent is back and he was looking for you and Cloud. I spoke with him yesterday…he's, well…you'll understand when you see him." She felt her pulse slowing to a normal, steady rhythm. "Cloud has been anxious the last few days, since Jenova left he's hardly left your study."

"_What?_" The sharpness in his tone startled her, she never thought he'd take offence to Cloud sitting in his study.

"He hasn't touched anything, honest…he just sits in there and reads." He gave a dry chuckle.

"I am not concerned with what my brother does in my study. You said Jenova…_left_?" Sephiroth's tone had gone from calm and soothing to something that made Tifa's skin crawl in less than a breath.

She cleared her throat before continuing. "Yeah, she left the night before last saying she went to visit a friend, someone in the north." There was something akin to a roar on the other end of the line and a loud crash.

She could almost feel the fury pouring off him through the phone. "Tifa get everyone and get out of there now, go to the ShinRa headquarters in Edge immediately. Have you told Angeal this?" He kept his voice low and as calm as he could.

"No, why? Leave? Why do I have to leave _now? _What the hell's going on?" Cloud had come in behind her, overhearing part of the conversation.

She heard him groan, trying to calm himself before speaking again. "Let me speak to Cloud…"

She turned to find him standing in the doorway and handed the phone over to him with a sad smile. "He wants to speak to you."

"Yes?" She watched, fascinated by the change in expression that flittered across Cloud's face as he listened intently to his brother. "I will." He closed the device quickly, sending a calculating look at Tifa. "The North refers to Argento the Silver, on of the more powerful Tsviet's. We've known all along Jenova had some connection with Hojo and Deepground, especially given her condition." Tifa shook her head, not seeing where this was going. "Jenova is working for Hojo…She is one of the bad guys, and given her psychotic state of mind these last few months, I'd imagine we're going to have our hands full if she gets to Sephiroth first."

"I knew it! I am going to enjoy kicking the shit out of that hag." Tifa's face quickly changed to a malicious grin.

"You can't go!" Cloud snapped. "He said you had to go to HQ, and I am not going to have him going into a murderous rage and wiping out Nibelheim…again." Tifa couldn't help but smirk.

She tossed her hair over her shoulder and pushed passed him, heading for the living room with Zack and Aerith behind him. "That was entirely _your_ fault. If you hadn't plucked that stupid turkey of his he wouldn't have realized he had such a temper to lose in the first place…Besides," Her smile fell as she stood in the living room, the black materia sitting comfortably on the mantle. "He was a different person then. He wont make that mistake again." She held the ball in the palm of her hand, reveling in how a ball that weighed no more than a boiled egg could contain the power to wipe out entire cities.

"I don't think that bird will ever let me near it again." He stood beside her, accepting the materia when she tossed it lightly at him. "You know he's going to blow a fuse or two when he sees you out there."

Tifa slowly reached up, pulling her hair tie out and releasing her incredibly long hair. "He wont recognize me." She turned to Aerith and Zack with a defiant smirk.

"Yeah, but he's definitely going to recognize us…and we were told not to get involved in this one." Zack folded his arms as he leaned against the wall.

Aerith nodded, eyeing Zack and then Tifa. "I'll cut your hair for you…I think I might even have some old clothes you could wear." She turned to Zack. "If you'd feel better following his orders, stay. The three of us can probably handle this." Zack's jaw dropped at her.

"I'm not going to sit here while you go out there and try to play 'hero'. Hell, you can't even stand to hurt bugs. How do you expect to stop an _army_ of well trained and heavily armed killers?" He hardly had time to blink before Aerith had twisted his arm around and had him on his knees, holding only his hand.

She gave him a smug grin "It isn't that I can't fight, honey…I choose not to." She said as he slowly stood, dusting off his wounded pride.

Tifa giggled at them. "Guess that means dinners off then, huh?"

* * *

Yuffie had driven most of the night only to get to Rocket Town in the rain. She had hoped to beat the weather there and was mildly put out to find she had failed. She looked around for the old copper mine, finding the abandoned mine hadn't been as hard as she'd thought. She sat staring for a moment, there were several towers of metal and pipes leading every which way. The gates were open, though only darkness seemed to emanate from within. She parked the vehicle out of sight and a slight ways away. She kept her eyes open, finding the rain less than soothing now that she was walking in it at midnight. At least there wasn't any wind.

As she neared the entrance of the mine she felt a chill run down her spine, she remembered several stories from her childhood about teens running off into mines only to be eaten and/or murdered by everything from monsters to psychotic mad men and serial killers. She wasn't too thrilled that she had to meet this person, whom she had never been introduced to, and in a place like this…

"Lady Kisaragi?" She later figured it must have been the low timbre of his voice, or maybe his black leather clothing and that creepy cape, and possibly the fact that he was in there without a light and his eyes were glowing red…what ever it was, she had never screamed that loud in her life or been that terrified of a single person.

His leather gloved hand clamped down hard over her mouth instantly, which only intensified her fear and need to fight back. "Lady Kisaragi, I was sent to meet you here. I am Vincent Valentine…" Her eyes registered several things in that moment, his own reflecting a momentary curiosity at the recognition he saw dawning over her face. "I'm going to take my hand away now…do not scream again." She nodded and he slowly removed his hand.

"By Leviathans holy hide, you could use a light or stand by the door instead of sitting here in the shadows terrifying young women wandering in the mine." She realized the lack of logic in her statement only after she had said it. "You know what I mean, don't go all stalker on people you don't know, it isn't nice Vince."

He winced at the name. "Do not call me that."

"Whatever, creeper." She shrugged off her rain coat and brandished the four pieces of Conformer. "So. What next?"

Vincent laid out several maps, all marked with points of interest. "Here, we need to get in and take out this reactors core and shut it down without causing too much damage to the surrounding area. It's a smaller reactor which is why only two of us are going. Do you have any knowledge on the construction and mechanics of mako reactors?" Yuffie gave him a look that indicated he had either grown a second head or she was confused.

"Damn it, I'm a ninja not a physicist! In simple terms, Mr. Valentine." She gave him a sly grin at the look he shot her. "Hey, at least it isn't Vince, Vin…or Vinny."

Vincent quirked an eyebrow and nodded. "Do you know how to break it?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"As a matter o' fact I do." She thrust a fist in the air triumphantly. "I single handedly destroyed the reactor formerly in Wutai."

He shook his head with a chuckle. "You couldn't have been responsible, you couldn't have been more than-"

"I was six." Yuffie met his challenging stare head on. "I didn't write you off just cause you're older than dirt, you look like a stuck up arrogant prick, and you've got that metal claw thing…don't write me off just cause I'm a young girl with an attitude. I'm more than you give me credit for, I am a real, full blooded, Wutaian Ninja and we aren't something to be trifled with." Her eyes had gone steely and full of an emotion he found difficult to acknowledge.

He sighed heavily and nodded slowly. "Forgive me, Lady Kisaragi."

She huffed and rolled her eyes. "And don't call me 'Lady' anymore. Yuffie will do fine."

"As you wish, Yuffie." He turned back to their maps and the schematics he had. "Shall we get down to brass tacks then?"

Yuffie nodded. As he spoke she tried to picture him as Cloud had described him. Short hair and almost shy, kind hearted, and polite. He supposedly had a pleasant smile and a gentle laugh, which Yuffie found hard to believe…though she figured with all he had gone through to get to this point he must have had to make several sacrifices. If Vincent caught her staring he didn't acknowledge it. She seemed to keep the pace well enough, only asking necessary questions when she didn't understand what he was talking about. He wasn't too surprised to find her well versed in politics, engineering, and he found it almost amusing to see she took absolutely no interest in science, other than she knew backing soda and vinegar could make a volcano to keep kids occupied for hours. She was more than prepared to go head to head on any issue regarding the rights of the people, guns, safety, the military, and even Avalanche…which he found a bit hypocritical.

"Look, just because I'm helping Reeve out and doing this doesn't mean I've always supported them. When I was ten the former members of the organization led a raiding party through one of our lowland villages that ShinRa occupied, which was fine at the time. They weren't going to rebuild the ruined reactor or set up any ShinRa gift shops. They were just there as a show of good faith from Wutai, if we allowed them to have some influence over the land they would sign a peace treaty. Avalanche found this to be against _their _beliefs and they started a riot that killed forty seven men, women, and children." Yuffie glared hard at him, and for an instant he could see what a daunting force she would be as the ruling Empress of Wutai. "That is not the kind of justice _I_ believe in. I don't see how anything can be resolved by killing innocent people, and the last attack by these monsters on Wutai is the _**only**_ reason I agreed to join now. Materia be damned, I want vengeance for my people!" She punctuated her statement by slamming her fist down on the maps.

Vincent sat back a moment and took her in. At all of twenty years old she was ready to fight to what could only be described as a noble death in the service, however secret, of her country and the people within. He was more than a little surprised to see that beneath the bouncy and some what immature façade she put up, she was in fact a well rounded and quite grounded young woman.

"I shall not underestimate you again, Yuffie." He smirked slightly, noting her temper seemed to dissipate almost instantly. He found he admired her spirit, at the very least. "Now, we've much work to do and not nearly enough time…." With a nod she listened intently to his plan for what was to come.

* * *

"General Sephiroth, I think we might have a problem." A young commander came barreling into his private tent, not bothering to stop and ask permission to speak. "Several townspeople…actually all of the civilians of this town are barricading our men within the city walls…they wont move or respond and the soldiers can't get through without using force."

Sephiroth stopped what he was doing and stood, towering over the man. "What do you mean "barricading us in"? They're civilians, push them aside and move on." He grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose irritably.

"It aint that simple, General." A young Turk with comically red hair came in behind the soldier. "Nero is using them as a sort of meat shield. _We_ could take care of it, keep your heavenly paws clean and what not." He spat out.

If looks could kill, Reno would have fallen over dead at that point. "I am not in the habit of making deals with ShinRa's lap dogs…I will go deal with it myself." He stalked passed the commander and Turk, yanking Masamune with him almost as an after thought.

As he made his way toward the gates of Midgar he heard the men speaking in hushed tones, concern and even a bit of fear edged in their voices. Sephiroth couldn't personally see how thirty unarmed men, women, and possibly children could pose any threat to the Soldiers of ShinRa's Army, but perhaps the sheer number of them appeared daunting. He had been dead wrong in assuming it would be so simple to just walk out there and threaten the surviving citizens of Midgar to cease and desist this foolish behavior. As he stood surveying the scene before him he understood why the men were so shaken.

Their eyes were jet black and as vacant as the void of space, and while he didn't go up to each person and check, he was sure they were already dead. Nero had some sort of ability to control the physical being of a person, alive or dead. He had not figured it would be to such an ungodly extent as this.

"They truly have no care for any human life…" Sephiroth muttered to himself.

Genesis stepped up beside him, his usual indifferent smirk hidden behind a mask of stoic calm. "Indeed they do not. What are your orders, General?" It seemed oddly out of place to hear Genesis requesting orders, seeing as he never followed them throughout their training or years working together.

"I…I don't know." His eyes were wide and full of a mix of anger and revulsion. "I don't pretend to be a great protector of life and its sanctity…but this goes beyond even my cruelty. I am at a loss…"

Genesis took a fighting stance. "We need to clear them out…if he can control them even a fraction of what we thought him capable of, then they likely fight as well as he does." He drew his blade as he spoke.

Sephiroth turned slowly, trying to think of any alternative to slaughtering the people before him. _'They are dead. They are already dead. This is justice. They should not be forced to live like this…' _He kept reminding himself, trying to find justice in what was likely going to happen.

He thought of Lucrecia and her one wish for him. She never asked for anything, nothing more than he simply be kind and just. That he, unlike his father, learn how to use his strength and wits to help rather than hurt.

'_Seph, honey…come here.' Lucrecia beckoned to her oldest son. The tall silver haired boy spun on his heel from his perch by the window. Cloud was outside playing a game of catch with Vincent, which in his opinion was the epitome of cliché…But Cloud was thrilled the man wanted to spend any time with him, so Sephiroth didn't interfere. _

'_Yes, mother…' He stood obediently before her. Her skin was pale and her eyes had grown to be the color of the crystal blue waters of Costa Del Sol. She was tired all the time and relied heavily on her boys. He knew something was coming and he knew it wasn't going to be good. He had seen her faint two days ago, and even in his fright and shock he managed to force himself to get a bowl of cool water and a soft cloth to put on her brow. He grabbed a pillow and sat by her side motionless, waiting for Vincent to return with Cloud. Vincent had effortlessly scooped her up off the floor and placed her in her own bed. It was the first time anyone had actually complimented Sephiroth, and the first moment he realized he needed to be much stronger than a nine year old had any right being. She was sick, that vile whelp Hojo had made her weak with all his tests and experiments…Sephiroth's birth had taken enough of a toll on her, but Cloud was the one that had pushed her body beyond its breaking point. The chemicals Hojo tried and different serums had shut down her liver and kidneys at one point, he was only able to restore partial function. But that, as with all gifts he gave, came with a price. She left him and he left her with the Geostigma. _

'_When the time comes, you must be strong for your brother.' She spoke softly, combing her fingers through his shoulder length hair. 'You should cut your hair, you silly boy.' She chuckled at the defensive way he clutched at his hair._

'_I like it long…' His pout only made her smile widen._

_She knelt before him, putting herself at eye level with him. 'I love you, so much you could never measure it. You are my whole reason for being…I want you to promise me, you will always fight for what is right, fight for those who cannot fight for themselves." Her grip tightened almost painfully on his arms as she spoke. He could see a wave of emotion behind her eyes that made his stomach uneasy. "No one should live in terror of those they look up to, they should never be afraid…not of those that are supposed to protect them. No one should live like that.'_

"General, are you going to make a decision or stare into space for the evening?" Genesis' sarcasm was apparently back, and he was quick to use it.

Sephiroth turned to face the people, their eyes unblinking as they stood guard. He took a few steps toward the closest person, a woman who appeared to be in her mid forties, and firmly gripped her shoulder. She let out a howl that was so utterly inhuman it startled the general back a few feet.

In an instant they all turned and attacked, like a swarm they dove upon him, grouping and clawing at him. He let out a startled shout, to which Genesis began eagerly slicing away at the group of people. The soldiers, who had been watching with a sort of morbid fascination, drew their weapons and fought back. It was over in minutes, the last of them struggling to drag themselves toward him with every dying ounce of their strength. Sephiroth felt a cold shudder run along his spine at the sight of so many innocent people dead, and by his hand. It was a cold reflection of a time he had been another man, a captive monster to the machine that was ShinRa corp.

The allure of the black materia, his already volatile temper, and the added stress of working near Hojo's old stomping grounds, so to speak, had brought hell to Nibelheim. His home, people he was supposed to care about and protect…he had killed many and burnt the village nearly to the ground. Tifa, Cloud, and a few of his old friends had been the only ones to stand between him and his madness. He could still remember the look on his brothers face when he had cut _her_ down…the disgust, fear, and hatred he had felt in that moment. The coldness in Zack's eyes as he attempted to go up against him. He had fought them, and he had won. He beat Cloud and ran him through, nearly killing him. It hadn't been until that moment, feeling the weight of his own brothers body dragging his sword down had been the key to breaking the trance. Vincent and the Turks he had been with at the time covered up the whole thing, making it seem like some training mission gone horribly wrong. It was disclosed that the black materia had been fully responsible for the calamity, though none alive knew it had been Sephiroth.

He spun around, taking in the carnage, all the while trying to focus on Tifa's words. _'You're not a monster, you are not a monster…' _She was slipping away the more he stood there.

All at once he was consumed by a blind rage, furious with those he had killed, his own recruits, and himself for being taken in so easily by one of Nero's tricks. He turned the full brunt of his fury on the men around him. _"CLEAN THIS MESS UP IMMEDIATELY!" _He shouted, startling the soldiers. "Get their bodies…OUT OF MY WAY!" He rounded on the commander who had interrupted his work earlier. "Is this what you were so afraid of? A handful of these pathetic commoners?! These _weak_ lifeless bodies? Get out of my sight, return to Edge and do not expect a warm welcome. ShinRa may forgive your weakness, I shall not." He all but growled out at the man, who in turn fled to the nearest transport.

As he turned he was greeted with a furious Genesis. "Your eyes haven't shown that color since the fires of Nibelheim, Sephiroth." He shoved Sephiroth into a nearby tent. "Dig in now, friend…this is not like the old days. These are Hojo's toys we're fighting and you have to lead these men with honor and some semblance of dignity. _You _have _too! _There is no one else fit to do the job. You can't lose yourself now, we need you."

Sephiroth glared at the ground. "I killed innocent people." His voice was hardly above a whisper.

"They were already dead!" Genesis screamed back. "Nero the Sable, the dark child of the group. The one who is _**NOTORIOUS **_for maiming and torturing all of his victims. He is Hell personified, Seph. This man, if he's even human, is nothing but pure vile darkness." He paced back and forth while Sephiroth stood motionless, anxiously running a hand through his short crimson hair. "Fuck! He makes Jenova look like a damn saint! He's fucking with your head, Seph! Don't let him win!" There was a glint in his eye Sephiroth didn't remember seeing before. Fear? Uncertainty? Anger? He didn't bother to waist too much time pondering the look.

Sephiroth straightened up and met Genesis' cold stare head on. "I have never been defeated in battle." His voice was dangerously low.

Genesis smiled broadly. "Well, if you aren't going to count the time Tifa, Cloud, and the Turks mopped the floor with you, then sure. You are absolutely undefeated." Sephiroth chuckled at that.

His smile faltered when he thought of Tifa and at Genesis' curious smirk voiced his concern. "I promised Tifa I would return the same man who had left her." He met the claret eyed mans blank expression easily. "I have never lied to her before."

"You know, normally I would find that a commendable trait…but right now you just sound so, oh I don't know…pathetic. Get over it, we kill as a means to survive. She teaches children to break bones with their bare hands, she herself has been in a fight or two in her time." Genesis gave a noncommittal shrug.

"She never killed anyone." He shot back.

Genesis laughed outright. "Never too late to start." Before Sephiroth could say anymore, Reno reappeared.

"So much for keeping your hands clean, yo. It only gets worse from here…We've lost contact with Tseng and Elena. Rude and I are going in, you either tag along now and do your soldier boy thing…or sit here and lament the second death these people have had to endure. You got five minutes." And just like that the red head was gone again.

Genesis turned to him slowly. "We need Angeal, we shouldn't go alone. Let the pup protect that girl of yours, not that she really needs it." He added with a wry grin. He had seen Tifa spar with Sephiroth and Cloud and she was something of a master in her art. A dancer who could break a man with the simple flick of her wrist.

Sephiroth shot him a warning glare. "Tifa. Her _name _is Tifa."

"Whatever, Zack can keep an eye or two on her. Send for Angeal." Sephiroth nodded grudgingly.

"Very well. I will inform the Turks." Sephiroth left the tent with a rush of air, leaving Genesis to stare at the space he had vacated. A pool of crimson had collected where his feet had been planted, all that now remained of the possessed citizens of Midgar. Genesis shifted uneasily, attempting to simply will the bloody mess away with no success, leaving when he could no longer stand it.

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_A/N: Ok, I wrote it in two days and I double checked it…feel free to point out mistakes of all shapes and sizes, feedback is always welcome :D I tried for some humor, though not as much this time around. Also, the next few chapters will have much more to do with Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis and their encounters with the Tsviets. Suggestions, comments, and/or complaints?_


	6. Chapter 6

_Note: I'm sort of back, it's taken several months to write this chapter…sorry. I maintain that I own nothing, I make nothing off this, heck I don't even get very many reviews and I'm exceptionally grateful for the ones I do get. :D Thanks for reading and stickin' it out with me, I've been super stumped lately. Sorry, by the way, if this one seems a little disjointed. It was written way after the other chapters and I kinda lost some of my momentum._

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Yuffie hadn't been able to shake the feeling of vague unease she'd woken with despite her rigorous morning workout. She watched Vincent go through his own routine and wondered if he felt the same, he glanced up, coolly acknowledged her, and continued on with what he was doing. She decided two things then. One, he was oblivious to her own internal turmoil. Two, he was an ass. A complete package, all jerk all the time. Good looks, sexy voice, no thoughts or considerations for his partner and her possible concerns.

She glared hard at the ground, running over the mission they'd finished only six hours earlier, hoping to Leviathan she hadn't screwed anything up for herself or Cloud. God's above be kind, if anything happened to him or Tifa she didn't know what she would do…

"We need to move out." His voice was disruptive, brittle even. She startled when she would have swooned, something was terribly wrong and she _should_ have been able to place it. Slowly, she stood and collected her bag and weapons, strapping them into place quickly before heading to the buggy.

She felt it before she heard it, a subtle shift of air, she almost passed it off as a breeze. Soon after came whistle of bullets slicing through air and hitting their mark. She heard flesh tear, smelled the burn, and was surprised she couldn't feel anything. She expected that, though. She knew a thing or two about gun shots, and she knew that shock played an important role. She wouldn't feel it for another fifteen seconds or so…she had time to call out a warning to Vincent. It wouldn't do any good for both of them to be caught unawares.

The burn started and she had been able to scream a wordless cry of anguish before the pain took her to her knees. She grinned, tugging a potion from her pocket. Vincent was _never_ caught entirely off guard. Three bullets fired at once and a cloud of red mist erupted from the trees just beyond the buggy. She gagged on half of the potion, the pain almost too much for her to manage consciousness.

"N-nice…sh-sh..shot." She ground out, rolling onto her side. The bullet hadn't hit anything vital and the potion was doing a fine job numbing the pain.

Vincent dropped beside her, examining the wound quickly. "Nothing vital, clean shot." He spoke mostly to himself peeled back the shirt from her left side. "Looks as though the bullet went straight through you." Yuffie rolled her eyes, annoyed either at herself for being shot or him for being so calculating even now, she was in too much pain to tell. "Can you stand?"

She glared daggers, willing him to catch fire where he was squatting over her. "Have you ever been shot?" He was already wrapping her side with nimble fingers. She was lucky it missed her vital organs, even a centimeter in any direction and she could have easily been dead on the spot, as it was she simply wished she was. _'Thank Leviathan…' _She repeated over and over as he tied off the bandage and gave her that raised eyebrow that meant he may have been cross with her.

"I was a Turk, Yuffie." He replied in a dry tone. She made an 'o' with her mouth and simply shook her head. He helped her to her feet and quickly got her to the buggy. He examined the remains of their would be attacker and took his gun in the off chance it would ever be useful to have. "We must get you to Reeve's men, I believe there's a squad in Gongaga. We'll go there." Yuffie nodded, the movement causing her stomach to roil in protest. Vincent's face was grim when he spoke again, which made her even more uneasy. "I will try to get there as quickly as I can, however; I have no idea what lies between us and the jungle…" Yuffie knew what that meant…it was just a matter of _who_ they ran into first. She honestly hoped it was the General. She could handle Sephiroth and Genesis, at least they would but her in a cell with a medic and a blanket. Empress or not, she'd really rather it be them than Deepground.

She settled into her seat, trying to relax as they sped across the plains. The buggy's engine roared tremendously, killing any chance of her talking to Vincent unless she could yell over the deafening sound, and after about an hour she gave up trying to get his attention and decided she'd just deal with feeling miserable, downing another potion to dull the pain. She felt tired, beyond that, she was _exhausted…_she sighed, feeling a heaviness settle in over her chest, as if she was trying to breathe underwater. She tried to take a deep breath only to be met with crippling pain when she did so. She gasped for air, which she suddenly found she needed desperately. She grasped at the wound to find it sopping. _'So much blood…' _She thought idly, vaguely aware she should be worried. Vincent, for all intents and purposes, seemed utterly unaware of her desperate situation, which struck her deeper than the bullet had. She couldn't fathom why, she hardly knew the man, and yet that seemed to be the deeper pain. She couldn't muster the strength to scream or yell over the roar of the buggy, in fact she couldn't find her voice at all. Her hands were trembling and pale and all she wanted to do in that moment was either cry or kick the arrogance right out of him. She felt her stomach roil again and all at once she felt her center of balance shift as she vomited. She hadn't noticed the buggy swerving off the road, or the fact that Vincent was yelling her name as they slid to an abrupt stop. She was, for the moment, grateful he'd thought to either open the window or release her altogether from the stifling buggy. Her eyes felt heavy and her vision was blurry at best, however she knew there was something distinctly different about him and she certainly wanted to have her say on the matter of him ignoring a woman in severe distress, but the world shifted violently on its axis and suddenly all she could feel was a rush of wind as she was engulfed by absolute darkness.

Vincent hadn't liked the idea of utilizing Chaos so openly, however, the likelihood that she would have died before they made it to any sort of hopeful support was quickly becoming a reality.

'_She's slipping away, Vincent…' _The ever present voice reminded him. Vincent grit his teeth and willed himself to fly faster. Yuffie had been sucking down potions like they were water and had likely poisoned herself with the Mako, which would be another matter he'd have to explain to Cloud…and the Emperor of Wutai. He felt something akin to a laugh bubbling up from within, and with great effort, managed to stifle it.

"Not now." He willed the demon back into his subconscious, which to his surprise, it seemed to go without so much as a second thought.

Yuffie managed a harsh groan, her small hands grasping onto whatever material they could. _"Not far now."_ Vincent's voice was somewhere between his usual deep baritone and a snarl. Yuffie either didn't notice, or didn't care, as she opened her mouth and let out an resonating cry of pain and went limp.

* * *

A faint flash of red went streaking across the night sky, giving the men below pause as they watched in slight awe.

"What in the nine hells was _that_?" Genesis cocked an eyebrow at the bizarre, displaced space the creature had left in it's wake.

Sephiroth stood stalk still, looking pale and shaken for the first time since basic training. It _couldn't _have been. He knew his eyes hadn't deceived him, though for such an obvious display...

"Seph…?" Genesis gently clasped his shoulder, successfully shaking him from his trance. Sephiroth quickly pulled himself back together, surprising Genesis yet again. He took a deep breath as he waited for whoever it was running toward his tent. "Sephiroth…you saw that, right?" Genesis shot the man a cold look. "Cloud and Zack are with Cid in the _'Shera'_ they should be able to reach Fort Condor by night fall tomorrow." Angeal stood looking ready for a fight. "The reactor in Rocket Town has been destroyed, no casualties. Also, Deepground sent this out…" He tossed a disc onto the table.

Sephiroth turned slowly, eying the disc cautiously. He knew it wasn't Deepground that had destroyed that reactor. "Is it possible AVALANCHE is trying to cripple Deepground? They've been hitting more reactors and with fewer casualties, if any at all, which seems to upset the DG's." He met Angeal's smirk.

The older man nodded toward the disc. "If you're thinking of doing what I think you are, then you had better watch that. We wont have much time…" Angeal turned, and stopped. "Do you know who any of the members of AVALANCHE are?" Sephiroth shook his head. "What would you do if they were people who were close to you? They _are_ terrorists, aren't they? They have committed a tremendous number of crimes against ShinRa…Rufus would not be so easily swayed to simply 'pardon' any one of them because they assisted us." Angeal watched him carefully.

Genesis chuckled, shaking his head. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend…what we don't report never happened." Both men turned to the red head. "We _need _their help." He took the disc from Sephiroth. "If this is going to divulge the identity of someone he shouldn't see, perhaps I should watch it and report back with all the…_important_ details. He has more important matters to worry over." He nodded toward the black phone settled beside Masamune and his coat.

Genesis spun on his heel and made his way to his own tent, Angeal close behind, leaving the Sephiroth to his thoughts. With a sigh he snatched the phone up and hit the call button…

* * *

Cloud held the picture between his fingers, tracing the lines of the faces within. He couldn't believe his eyes, though with the things he'd seen in the last few years there was little that _should _surprise him. He took a deep breath and tucked it back into his pocket at soft footsteps approached.

She settled beside him on the bench. Having been on many a ferry, she was used to the constant sway, except that this was no ferry and they weren't out on some ocean. It was the _'Shera' _and they were several thousand feet in the air. It was a flying war machine, armed to the teeth and several times as dangerous. ShinRa's finest engineer, Cid Highwind, had developed them. The '_Highwind' _was the first, and still in commission. This was his newest, and greatest remake.

"A feat of modern engineering, huh? Who would think you could get something like _this_ into the air and have it do all that." She gestured to the schematic on the wall. Cid, being the arrogant pilot and engineer that he was, had posted a diagram of just what the _'Shera'_ was capable of. "I mean, I've seen the warships and what have you, but this thing is unbelievable…" Tifa stood staring a moment, awe struck. The airship was designed to look harmless enough, yet her payload was enough to make a Turk blush. She was capable of stealth flight, night raids, and her hull was lined with a material provided _by _the Turks and impenetrable. Most importantly, she was Mako powered, the first and only airship so far to be able to handle it. "I can't believe him, such a crass and angry man…and look at what he did." She motioned around her. Cloud offered a half smile and nodded. Tifa had lost much of her color in the last few days, and Zack and Aerith had literally glued themselves to her. She seemed to appreciate their concern less and less, however. He stood slowly and walked over to her as she continued to gush over her uncle and his bizarre engineering madness.

Tifa felt the air leave her in a sudden rush as two arms wrapped around her shoulders from behind and suddenly she found herself being spun around into a warm chest as she was quickly engulfed in what could easily be described as the greatest release of pressure in the last month. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, only to find herself crying openly into his shirt. Her knees gave way and he held her aloft as though she weighed nothing at all. In that moment she let out everything she'd been holding onto since the General had left. Her arms wrapped around him, grasping and clawing at him desperately as he whispered reassuringly against her hair, soothing her with only his words as his arms tightened around her almost possessively.

Aerith came down looking for her, and upon hearing the sounds of her crying, she'd come running around the corner to see them slipping to the ground. She practically flew to them, wrapping her arms around Tifa's waist as she fell to her knees beside her friend. As her eyes met Cloud's her stomach knotted immediately. In that moment he never looked more conflicted, his eyes were never more hollow, deeper, afraid, or full of some unsure emotion than they were right then. She'd never seen them so blue, they were practically glowing, they were so beautiful it was tragic. She felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Oh, Cloud…" She whispered, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. He jerked away as if burned, causing her to withdraw her hand. Her cheeks colored slightly, whether in shame or surprise he didn't know, and he wasn't about to ask.

Cloud released Tifa carefully. "I trust you know more about…this…than I do." Tifa's head shot up, her eyes full of hurt and confusion. Cloud knelt before her, wiping her tears away with his thumb. "Don't worry, we'll get to Yuffie and Sephiroth before anything happens to either one…I promise." He let his knuckles graze her cheek, dancing away as she leaned into his touch, her shoulders still shaking and eyes rimmed red. She nodded as Aerith pulled her into her arms, holding her tight.

"I'll take care of her from here, Cloud…" There was something in the flower girl's tone that made him uneasy.

He nodded slowly as he stood and walked away, fighting the urge to punch something. He rounded the corner and quickly changed his mind, heading for the galley. Amos nearly tripped him as he barreled through the doors. He was more than a little upset that she had _demanded_ they bring the dog. There were plenty of kennels there that would have taken excellent care of the damned animal…

There was a grumble behind him. "Yeah, yeah…you're her favorite damn dog, I get it." He immediately felt foolish for answering an animal, and yet he knew that dog could read him like a book. He was almost sure it hated Sephiroth, but it sure liked to follow him around. "I guess it's ok she brought you along…just in case." He gave Amos a gentle scratch between his ears as he leaned heavily on one of the several cooking surfaces. After a brief bit of rummaging, he'd managed to find a bit of whiskey stowed on board. Cloud poured himself a glass and took a seat.

"Pour me one, will ya?" A gruff voice called out from the behind him. He poured a second glass, sliding it down the counter effortlessly. "Thanks. How's the girl?" His voice was gruff, even when he spoke softly it sounded like he was sucking on sandpaper. Cloud chalked it up to years of smoking, and possibly the frequency at which he screams at his men.

"She will be fine, sir. Thank you for your concern." He at least remembered his formalities. Cid out ranked him, and on a bad he could probably break him three ways from Sunday…or at least that was true four years ago. Cloud hadn't really spoken to his old training Sgt since he had advanced to Second Class. He and Zack were among the youngest, aside from Sephiroth, Angeal, and Genesis, to be nominated for the First Class Officer positions.

Cid tipped the glass back, downing the amber liquid in two swallows. "Cut th'shit, Cloud, sh's my God's be damned niece…that girl's built tougher than th' fuckin' Shera. She ain't _fine_.." Cid gave his now empty tumbler a spin settling a hard glare on Cloud. He shifted slightly, unsure what exactly he should say. "Fuck…you're _all _with them aren't you?" Cloud nodded slowly, absolutely sure who _them_ was. "How long?" He felt like a school boy in trouble, unable to find his tongue. "How fucking long?!"

Cloud jumped. "Two, three years I think…I don't really remember. I joined up when I met Reeve…after Jenova _turned_." His voice trailed off as he stared down at the glass in his hand. "It was around the same time I joined SOLDIER, and for the same reasons. Reeve's striving for the same peace Rufus is and he means as well, if the two were ever to meet the results could only be in our favor." Cloud looked up to see Cid staring in mild surprise.

The pilot poured himself another glass and tossed back the amber liquid with a sigh. "I dunno what I should do with ya. I mean, by all ShinRa rights I should shuck your traitorous ass off my fuckin' airship." His usual twang had all but vanished and dropped a few octaves. His eyes were blue steel and just as unforgiving, and for an instant Cloud was afraid. This man was his superior in more ways than rank. Hand to hand wasn't his specialty and Cid had arms like steel cables. If the man wanted to he could fold Cloud into a pretzel before he tossed him, effortlessly, off the airship. "I _would_ kill ya…except…" He stood, taking Cloud's now empty cup with him rinsing them quickly before placing them in the drying rack, leaning heavily on the counter. "I've been fightin' the good fight fer goin' on seven years now." He chuckled at the utterly shocked look on Cloud's face. "Shera's been with 'em longer…" He smirked then. "T's how I met that woman. Sassy scientist, she plays coy, but she aint nothin' like that in the…well ya get my meanin'. I knew Tifa was, she has been fer years. Does she know that…?" Cloud nodded slowly.

"I'm going to be promoted this spring to Soldier First Class, along with Zack." Cloud frowned a moment. "How many members of Soldier are in AVALANCHE?" Cid laughed outright.

Shaking his head, he dug around for another pack of smokes, lighting up and taking a long drag. "More than you'd think, though not enough."

Cloud nodded and looked down at Amos, paw over his nose, he had one ear lifted as though he were intently listening to their conversation. "I only know Zack and I, it's been hell keeping it from my brother." Cloud rubbed his face tiredly.

Cid chuckled. "The General has an uncanny knack fer bein' blind when it most suits his ass…take Nibelhiem, or the Asura Reactor in Junon. Oh, let us not forget our _dear _Empress Yuffie." Cid rolled his eyes at the mention of Yuffie, Cloud felt his stomach churn. The last he heard she had been poisoned and Vincent was taking her to Reeve himself. Cloud absently patted the picture in his pocket. "Point is, yer brother wont _see_ you as anythin' but…me? He'd kill me on the spot…if'n he knew." Cid said with a smug grin. "He's also quite dim." Cloud chuckled at that. Sephiroth could be very narrow minded when he was otherwise focused.

Cloud felt relieved, and like he needed to go apologize to Tifa. "Thanks, Cid." Cid gave him a noncommittal noise in response and chuckled. Cloud stood to leave, Amos in tow.

"Kid, just be careful. Brother's share plenty…not _everything._" Cid fixed him with another hard look. Cloud felt his gut twist at that and nodded. He walked out onto the deck and decided against his earlier plan to see Tifa, opting to return to his room instead with the strange feeling that everything he felt was written clearly on his forehead. He glanced down as Amos let out a low rumble, confirming his worries.

He could hear Tifa's soft laughter as he passed her door, and figured he must have finally been able to call. It was strange, the relationship the two of them had. Cloud wasn't envious, really. He was grateful. Sephiroth never wanted for himself, and neither did she. Tifa's voice sounded strained, worried. She was holding something back, perhaps the struggle to keep her secret now was getting to her. Cloud felt guilty, as though he was somehow responsible...Sephiroth would be furious if he knew she was one of them, he wouldn't be so concerned with him though...Cloud was willful even as a child. He'd always wanted out of his brothers shadow, but Tifa would be something else.

Amos sat like a statue in front of her door, watching the handle expectantly. He neither whined nor scratched, knowing full well she'd open it when she was good and ready. Cloud waited a moment and after a second thought, opened the door himself, letting the massive dog in. Tifa gasped, reassuring the person on the phone that it was simply Cloud letting Amos into her room.

"No, no...he just opened the door. I-no! I could _not_ leave him there while we left. What if they destroyed the town? I highly doubt they would think twice about rescuing him. Besides, I feel much safer having him with me." She smiled affectionately at the dog as he gingerly hopped onto her bed and did his best to take up as little space as he could. Tifa eyed Cloud skeptically a moment. "He wants to speak to you..." She said with a slight frown.

Cloud eyed her sullenly a moment before taking the phone. "Sephiroth..." This had been a conversation he had not been expecting and with a person he hadn't been ready for.

"Not quite, kid." Genesis had to be grinning, with that tone. "You've got some explaining to do..." Cloud felt his gut hit the floor and from the way Tifa touched his arm his sudden fear must have been flashing on his forehead. He'd have to work on this whole 'open book' thing. He'd been spending too much time with this woman, it was rubbing off on him and in the worst way.

"What do you want to know?" He felt anger and resentment rising in him. He was putting everyone in danger. To his surprise, it must have come through in his voice.

"How willing do you think the other members of your little after school gang will be if we ask them to work with us?" There was a hint of a mocking tone in his voice, though not as much as Cloud was expecting...he was serious.

Cloud looked at Tifa, who was smiling sadly at Amos. Genesis must have taken his silence as contemplation, as he resumed the conversation without him.

"I'm sending you some data now. Our last mission was an utter failure...we _never_ fail." There was that tell tale anger in Genesis' voice, he was only ever angry when he was honest...or about to kill something. "Think about it. You have twelve hours, after that the offer expires and we are out of options. We need to work together, Cloud. We need their help. You, we can easily ignore...the others are another story. This is the only way for them to survive...especially _her._" With that the line went dead. Cloud tossed the phone onto the bed.

Tifa lifted her mahogany gaze to his. "So, do we fight with or against the great machine? They are the lesser of two evils, in this case."

"They aren't evil, Tifa!" He hissed at her. She jumped as Amos growled at Cloud's tone. "If they were you wouldn't be fucking their _General_!" He spun on his heel, slamming her door as he left. He headed for the control room and to find Zack. What a day this had turned out to be, and only a twelve hours till they hit Fort Condor. He stopped suddenly..."Fuck, they're _waiting _for us!" He growled at no one in particular, breaking into a run.

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_A/N: So? I know it took me a million years to get this one up and I know I said I would get it up sooner…I'm lame, what can I say? But seriously, I would really like to know what everyone thinks of this chapter, especially since there's some new development goin' on ;) I'd like you to know, it was supposed to be Zack, but I couldn't for the life of me get his ass into a position to be all "Hey Tifa, bow chica bow wow" and Cloud was like "I'm on it!" So…there you have it. Who knows, maybe I'll just give in and have Aerith do it, since as everyone knows (thank you cheesy dramas) the best time to get into the hot chicks pants is when she's crying and emotionally disturbed. And Aerith has been doing all the leg work here with the comforting and such…hehe, I'm totally kidding :D Anyway, review please!!!_


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